Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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143. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a breakdown of the €9.023 million given by Irish Aid in 2012 to Mozambique under the heading general budget support; if he will provide a breakdown of exactly where the money was spent; the level of parliamentary oversight the Mozambique Government has in relation to this funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50644/13]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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144. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a breakdown of the €15.223 million given for health, HIV and AIDS purposes in Mozambique; if he will provide a breakdown of the €5.593 million given towards education in Mozambique and the €1.782 million to agriculture; the amount that was given directly to the Mozambique Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50645/13]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 144 together.

Mozambique is one of the nine key partner countries for the Government’s development cooperation programme, where we have a commitment to long term strategic assistance. Ireland’s bilateral aid programme to Mozambique is governed by a five year country strategy (2012–16). The goal of the programme is to support sustainable, inclusive, development, and to contribute to the reduction of poverty and vulnerability in Mozambique. Under this strategy, Ireland has committed to working with a range of partners to deliver our assistance, including the Government of Mozambique, international institutions, non-governmental organisations, civil society and research bodies. The attached table provides the breakdown of Ireland’s support to Mozambique.

Ireland cooperates with other donors in providing support to the Government of Mozambique through a number of different funding channels: general budget support, the education common fund, the land fund for agriculture, and – in a partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative – the health common fund. In 2012, approximately 80% of Irish bilateral assistance to Mozambique was delivered through Government systems. An important objective is to support the development of key public services and to strengthen the capacity of the administration to deliver these services to Mozambican citizens.

Funds delivered through Mozambican Government systems are subject to a series of checks. The Mozambican Government makes available to donors the full details of its budget, including its quarterly and annual financial execution reports, six-monthly progress reports and all audit reports. This includes State accounts audited by Mozambique’s supreme audit institution, the Tribunal Administrativo. In addition, donors, including Ireland, supplement the work of the Tribunal Administrativo through the use of commercial audit companies and through Public Financial Management reviews.

The Mozambican Parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee – which is chaired by the Honourable Eneas Comiche, who visited the Oireachtas last June – has oversight of the State budget, which is a mix of Mozambique’s own revenues and pooled international development funds. It also reviews audit reports from the Tribunal Administrativo on Government spending.

While Mozambique’s economy is growing fast, it still remains poor. Mozambique currently ranks 185 out of 187 countries in the UN Human Development Index. Over recent years, after a terrible civil war, with support from Ireland and other donors, Mozambique has made excellent progress to improve health outcomes, particularly for pregnant women and babies, and to increase the number of children attending primary school. However, considerable challenges remain, including high rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. While the numbers of children in school have increased, the Government recognises that more must be done to improve the quality of education.