Vol. 497 No. 2
87 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of the relationship that exists between his Department and APSO; the projects entered into in conjunction with APSO over the past 12 months; the costs, if any, incurred to his Department as a result of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24439/98]
APSO is a state-sponsored body established in 1974 to promote and sponsor temporary personal service by skilled Irish people in developing countries. The focus of its work is increasingly on local skills enhancement in support of self-reliance and sustainable development. APSO is funded from an annual grant-in-aid from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The provision for 1998 is £10.7 million. The Minister for Foreign Affairs appoints the board of the agency, which includes an official from the Department. APSO is represented on the committees which examine funding applications under the various schemes operated by Irish aid, e.g. NGO co-financing, emergency and rehabilitation assistance, human rights and democratisation schemes.
APSO's annual activities are approved by the board of the agency in line with its strategic plan. The Department and APSO co-operate closely in a number of areas. For example, in the 1997-98 period, the Department and APSO, in conjunction with the OSCE and EU, have placed 234 Irish election monitors and supervisors in a number of countries, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Lesotho, Liberia, Pakistan, Slovakia, Ukraine and Yemen. Earlier this year, APSO, with the support of the Department, launched the rapid reponse register which was developed at the request of the Department in line with the commitment given in the Government's White Paper on Irish Foreign Policy (1996). These costs are absorbed within APSO's grant-in-aid.
In response to the recent devastation caused by hurricane Mitch in Central America, the Department has allocated £80,000 in emergency assistance through APSO, which is active on the ground in the countries most affected. This is separate from the agency's annual grant-in-aid and has been allocated on an exceptional basis in view of the extreme circumstances on the ground. APSO personnel based in Central America have been redeployed in the short-term to maintain some level of essential services to the people, who have seen many of the gains of development projects swept away in the floods. Assistance provided through APSO has included food, medicines and clothes. APSO has also despatched a small number of medical and logistics experts to the region to support the relief effort.
