John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

106. To ask the Minister for Defence the amount of funding allocated by his Department to organisations not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General; the names of these organisations; the amount of funding allocated to each over the past five years; the process in place to ensure that value for money is achieved and that the funding allocated is audited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38667/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department provides funding to a number of organisations, both nationally and internationally, which are not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Details of these organisations and the associated funding provided is as follows:

Irish Red Cross

Civil Defence

Civil Defence operations at local level are carried out under the control of the relevant local authority. Funding for Civil Defence operations is shared on a 70/30 basis between the Department of Defence and local authorities by way of an annual grant to each authority. The grant covers all allowable administration and running costs for Civil Defence in each local authority.

The annual grant is issued following a detailed examination of certified financial returns from the local authority on the previous year’s expenditure. Discretionary grants are also issued to local authorities from time to time towards the purchase of vehicles and equipment. Such grants are based on a business case and are subsequently paid on the basis of vouched expenditure.

The external auditor for Local Government includes a check on the Civil Defence grants as part of its annual audit agenda. The table below shows the total amount of funding allocated to local authorities over the past five years.

Department of Defence funding to Local Authorities for Civil Defence

A condition of the grants/subventions to ONE and IUNVA is the annual submission of audited accounts to my Department. Monies paid to the Military History Society of Ireland are paid on a vouched basis.

International Organisations

(2) The European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC) is an agency of the Council of the European Union dedicated to the exploitation and production of information derived from the analysis of earth observation space imagery in support of the EU’s decision making in the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).  Council Decision 2014/401/CFSP on the EUSC (repeals Joint Action 2001/555/CFSP on the establishment of the EUSC) lays out the financial and budgetary principles for the agency.

(3) The Athena Special Committee is a working body of the EU Council which administers the financing of EU CSDP military operations. Pursuant to the European Union Council Decision 2011/871/CFSP (repealed and replaced by the Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/528 of March 2015) the Athena College of Auditors, comprising six members appointed from national audit bodies, audit the consolidated financial statements of the Athena Mechanism and its operations/missions and exercises in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.