Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 222 and 227 together.

The Government has provided €102 million in humanitarian and development assistance for the people of Palestine since 2023. Through the international development programme, Irish Aid, we partner with trusted multilateral and non-governmental humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank, enabling us to achieve a greater impact than we could on our own. Partners provide us with detail on numbers of people reached with emergency life-saving assistance and strong reporting on results achieved. Since 2023 our humanitarian funding has been predictable and flexible, enabling our partners to provide assistance as quickly as possible with as great an impact as possible on the lives of affected people, in difficult and dangerous circumstances.

Given the range of needs, operating constraints, partner capacities, and partner mandates in Gaza and the West bank, the Department seeks to ensure Irelands assistance is delivered across a range of alternative delivery mechanisms, including through UN agencies, including UNWRA, and NGOs.

When allocating grants to these organisations, the Department assesses administrative, overhead costs and value for money, with reference to the context and alternatives available. These assessments are undertaken as part of the Department’s standard process for awarding and managing grants, consistent with its global approach to grant management.

The following table sets out the total amount of funding provided by Ireland to support the people of Palestine from January 2023. We also last week announced an additional €42 million in assistance to the people of Palestine for 2026, including €20 million in core funding for UNRWA, with the balance to be allocated in response to needs throughout the year.

Partners	2023 €000s	2024 €000s	2025 €000s
Partners	2023 €000s	2024 €000s	2025 €000s
UNRWA	18,000	20,000	20,000
UN OCHA	4,945	1,075	3,141
ICRC - IFRC	2,000
Food and Agricultural Organisation - DAFM (Emergency Support Gaza)		1,000
UNICEF			2,000
World Food Programme	2,600		3,000
World Health Organisation	1,000		1,000
Norwegian Refugee Council (West Bank Protection Consortium)	400	400	400
COMET-ME	100	100	250
Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation		120
Bilateral Palestinian Authority Services	3,060	3,360	3,380
Humanitarian responders	19	204	205
Peace and Rights	1,367	1,856	1,668
Development Partners and support	1,377	1,436	161
Scholarships	927	1,017	946
Total in support of the people of Palestine	35,795	30,568	36,151

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 225 and 226 together.

Through our international development programme, the Government has consistently provided significant development and humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. This support has been scaled up since the start of the conflict in Gaza in October 2023. Last week, we announced a further €42 million in assistance for 2026, including €20 million in funding to support the work of UNRWA.

In 2023, as part the Department's ongoing oversight measures, the Evaluation and Audit Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade carried out an internal audit of grant funding to humanitarian NGOs operating in the West Bank and Gaza. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of risk management and internal controls in place governing the funding of NGOs through our programme of assistance for Palestine. The period covered by the audit was 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. No significant issues were identified and a small number of recommendations were made which are being addressed by the Department.

In conjunction with this, an audit of Ireland's diplomatic mission in Ramallah was also conducted. The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the risk management and internal control systems of the Representative Office, with particular emphasis on internal financial controls. No significant issues were identified and the recommendations made have all been addressed by the Department.

As a trusted partner organisation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, UNWRA, in common with all our partners, is subject to the governance, audit and compliance conditions set out in the Department's 'tandard Approach to Grant Management. These include a detailed analysis of partner capacity, reporting and audit. This is complemented by the Department’s counter-fraud policy, legislation and procedures on protected disclosure, information on whistleblowing, and appropriate monitoring.

All of the Department’s partnerships, including with UNRWA, are subject to robust internal and external controls, including audit and evaluation, managed by the Department's independent Evaluation and Audit Unit and validated by the external Audit Committee. The Comptroller and Auditor General also assesses this Department's internal controls.

UNRWA is mandated by the UN General Assembly to provide vital services for Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, and elsewhere in the region. It is the largest humanitarian organisation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Multiple Reviews of its work, structures and effectiveness have been carried by international bodies, including the EU and the UN:

• A European Commission review in late 2023 found that "the existing safeguards in place- which have been significantly strengthened in the past years - work well and no evidence has been found to date that money has been diverted for unintended purposes".
• A further review by the EU in January 2024 resulted in the restoration of suspended EU and indicated the EU’s support to the UN’s initiative to establish an independent Review Group to appraise UNRWA.
• Two major reviews were commissioned by the UN: the independent review, knowsn as the Colonna Report and the Office of Internal Oversight Report. They found that UNWRA was committed to upholding the humanitarian principle of neutrality. The Colonna Report found no evidence supporting Israel's claims of staff involvement in Hamas attacks but made a series of recommendations on governance, staff vetting and oversight.

Ireland has engaged closely with UNRWA on its response to allegations and concerns expressed by Israel. We have emphasised our strong support for the organisation and its work and have not suspended any funding to it.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 228 together.

Through the international development programme, Irish Aid, the Government has provided €102 million in humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinian people since January 2023. Last week, we announced an additional €42 million in assistance for 2026. The management and allocation of this funding is subject to the management procedures of the Department of Foreign Affairs, working with its humanitarian and development partners. As a donor of humanitarian and development funding, Ireland partners with multilateral and non-governmental humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade prioritises the management of risk with all of its partner organisations. Ireland's funding to organisations in Gaza and West Bank is subject to:

• the same governance, audit and compliance conditions as all of the Department's other partners, globally. These conditions are set out in the Department’s Standard Approach to Grant Management, and include review of partners' capacities and flows of funds.
• robust internal and external controls, including audit and evaluation, managed by the Department's independent Evaluation and Audit Unit and validated by the external Audit Committee. The Comptroller and Auditor General assesses the Department's internal controls.
• partner organisations' internal oversight mechanisms to ensure accountability and minimize the risk of diversion in each stage of aid delivery. Typical mechanisms include vetting of staff, sub-partners, and suppliers; and supply chain tracking involving inspections and scanning at border crossings and logistics facilities.

These arrangements are designed to provide accountability to donors. However, we recognise that there are significant, inherent risks to aid delivery in challenging and dangerous environments such as Gaza. A Risk Management Solutions Group (RMSG) comprised of donors, UN, and international NGO representatives is currently is working to strengthen existing safeguards to promote aid transparency and reduce the risk of diversion into and within Gaza through measures that are proportional to the assessed risk.