Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 1990

Vol. 394 No. 8

Written Answers. - Sudan Development Co-operation Office.

Roger T. Garland

Question:

116 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the setting up of a Development Co-operation Office in the Sudan in 1986 whereby a high ranking official was sent to the Sudan and was recalled in 1987; the tasks which were carried out during the official's visit; the location of the office which was obtained to run the operation; the amount expended during this time both on accommodation and research; and the reason the office was closed down.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Collins)

With an expanding aid programme to the Sudan it was found necessary in 1986 to have an Irish representative located there. A Development Co-operation Office (DCO) was established in Khartoum in October 1986. This office was closed early in 1988.

The primary task of the Development Co-operation Office, which was staffed by an officer of the Department at First Secretary/Assistant Principal level, was to oversee the disbursement of official development aid to the Sudan.

The office was located on the eighth floor of the Sudan Development Corporation Building (junction of Middle Road and Street 19), New Extension, Khartoum. Prior to that it operated from temporary hotel accommodation.

Expenditure on accommodation in the period was approximately £52,800. Two of the projects operating in Sudan provided assistance to Sudanese research institutes — the Institute of Animal Production and the Shukaba National Dairy Research Centre. Total expenditure on these two projects amounted to approximately £235,000 during the period.

The closure of the office was part of a programme of action taken to reduce expenditure on our overseas representation and was one in a series of measures taken by Government in 1987-88 in pursuit of the priority objective of reducing public spending. These measures affected a very broad range of governmental activities and services, including those administered by my Department. The Development Co-operation Office in Khartoum was selected for closure by Government only after all other cost saving options had been explored.