Michael Ring
Question:109 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will approve a line for Irish operational non-governmental organisations in the budget to ensure a meaningful grant on an annual basis to them. [6174/00]
Vol. 515 No. 3
109 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will approve a line for Irish operational non-governmental organisations in the budget to ensure a meaningful grant on an annual basis to them. [6174/00]
Ireland Aid has a valuable and long-standing partnership relationship with Irish NGOs active in development and humanitarian relief assistance. Last year's OECD review of Ireland Aid confirmed that our funding through NGOs is high by international standards.
Support for development activities carried out by NGOs may be funded under a number of headings within the bilateral aid programme including the NGO co-financing scheme, the human rights and democratisation scheme, and the emergency relief and rehabilitation assistance scheme. Funding arrangements are related to the purpose of the various spending programmes and not the nature of the recipient organisations. Funding is intended to support activities rather than organisations.