Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the type of support and assistance given relating to transparency and accountability that facilitated the recent disclosure on aid to Uganda. [50252/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Ireland has been working for many years to assist the office of the Auditor General in Uganda. Building the capacity of key financial oversight institutions in our partner countries is an essential component of our aid programmes. In Uganda, we have increased our support to these key institutions in recent years to ensure that the systems through which Government deliver development programmes, are more accountable. In 2011, €1.3m was provided to support financial oversight institutions in Uganda, including within the Ministry of Finance, Parliament, the National Procurement Agency and the Office of the Auditor General. Ireland has been working with and assisting the office of the Auditor General as an inherent part of our programme in Uganda. The Auditor General has also visited Ireland to look at our systems of accountability. His recent report into the handling of aid funds by the Office of the Prime Minister has found that funding of €12.6 million received from Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark last year was transferred to unauthorised accounts, of which the Irish Aid component is €4 million. The support provided by Ireland has enabled the Auditor General’s Office to build the skills and capacity required for the conduct of complex investigations such as this.

While the findings of the Auditor General in this case are deeply disturbing, the fact that the Auditor General is now in a position to make them is a demonstration of the increased capacity and determination of elements within the Ugandan administration to enforce accountability for the use of government and donor money. It is only by building national accountable systems such as this that corruption can be eliminated. Depending on the decisions on the future of our development cooperation programme in Uganda I would hope to continue our assistance to the Office of the Auditor General to ensure that he has the appropriate resources to continue his essential work.