Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Question 56: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of associations, organisations and regulatory bodies in receipt of grants, benefit in kind and sums of money from the State in tabular form for the past three years; if he is satisfied that the State should be financing such organisations; if he will undertake to examine the savings that can be made in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28917/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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My Department is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs) and Vote 27 (International Cooperation).

The Department necessarily works with a wide range of partners in pursuit of its strategic goals. In some cases, this involves the provision of funding to associations, organisations or other bodies.

The following table sets out the number of such bodies that have received funding through Vote 28 over the past three years.

In addition to these organisations, further funding, generally in relatively small amounts, is made available through our Mission network for local programmes and projects. In the time available it has not been possible to collate a list of these beneficiaries.

In all cases the number of organisations and the amount of support is kept under review and opportunities for savings are actively explored. It should be noted that in the case of many of the larger payments made by my Department the sum involved is an assessed mandatory contribution representing Ireland's share of the running costs of organisations such the UN and its agencies and other international bodies.

Under Vote 27 – International Cooperation – my Department manages the Government's official programme of development assistance, Irish Aid. This involves the provision of funding and support for a wide of range of organisations engaged in development cooperation.

Organisations funded include UN Agencies, Programme Country Governments, large Irish and International development Non-Governmental Organisations, Missionary Organisations, other International and Multilateral Organisations, and smaller civil society based organisations, all of which are focused on the fight against global poverty and hunger.

Funding is provided to partner organisations following a rigorous appraisal process by Irish Aid. All funding applications must meet strict and transparent criteria, have clearly identified specific objectives and have demonstrable results that will have a sustainable and positive impact on improving the lives of some of the world's poorest communities.

Based on the trend over the past three years, on average, Irish Aid funds in excess of four hundred organisations annually. Approximately one third of Irish Aid funding is channelled through Non Governmental and Missionary Organisations, a third through UN Agencies and other Multilateral Organisations, while the remainder is channelled through other International Development Organisations and Programme Country Government systems. A detailed analysis of spending under the aid programme is provided each year in the Irish Aid Annual Report.

In addition to the individual reviews that form a normal part of my Department's approach to funding, an overall review of funding was carried out last year as part of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure, which resulted in some savings being achieved.