Vol. 519 No. 1
7 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the initiatives, if any, he has taken to mobilise the international community with regard to strategic delivery under the multilateral aid programme, with particular reference to the need to ensure the aid goes directly to those for whom it was intended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13129/00]
110 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for For Affairs Affairs the extent to which Ireland proposes to use its influence at the UN to ensure international aid goes directly to those for whom it was intended, particularly in areas experiencing civil or military strife; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13213/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 110 together.
Contributions by Ireland Aid to multilateral organisations account for between 35% and 40% of total ODA expenditure. A significant proportion of Ireland's multilateral ODA is mandatory, including most of our contributions to the UN, the World Bank Group and the UN's agricultural and food agencies.
The 1996 White Paper on Irish Foreign Policy stated that Ireland's multilateral contributions should be used to further the aims of our development policy in a way that is consistent with our relationship with the developing world. Contributions to multilateral organisations conform as closely as possible with priority areas of Irish development co-operation policy. These priorities include poverty reduction, self-reliant development, human resources, gender issues, the environment and sustainable development, food security, human rights and democratisation.
Ireland's share of the EU's development budget is approximately £30 million. In addition, we contribute £10 million per year to the European Development Fund. We, therefore, have a national interest in ensuring that EU aid is delivered effectively and goes directly to those most in need.
A number of recent external evaluations have highlighted problems in the EU aid programme. Internal EU financial controls are bureaucratic and complex leading to long delays in the disbursement of aid. Decision making on EU aid needs to be decentralised to the field to allow for greater flexibility. There are too many financial instruments and there is no overall EU statement on development policy governing aid. These problems have led to a large build up of unspent balances which now amount to over £10 billion. They also hamper the effective delivery of aid. The EU's failure to quickly replenish the Ethiopian Food Reserve is the most glaring recent example.
The next meeting of the EU Development Council on 18 May will consider the results of these external evaluations and will be hearing from Commissioner Nielson on his plans for the reform of the management of Community aid. The Commission is preparing a major overhaul of the EU aid administration and has presented a communication setting out the main elements of an over-arching EU development policy.
In the coming months there will be intensive discussions about the future reform of EU aid. A concerted effort will be made to put in place a more efficient system designed to ensure the rapid disbursement of funds and to deal with the problem of the accumulated unspent balances. Ireland's voluntary contributions to the UN and other international development agencies have been increasing in recent years. The total allocation for voluntary contributions in 2000 is £12.045 million. The three principal UN development agencies – UNDP, UNICEF and the UNHCR – remain the largest recipients of our voluntary contributions.
In allocating funding to multilateral institutions, Ireland emphasises the need to focus on poverty reduction, particularly in the poorest countries. We also encourage close co-operation between all donors, bilateral and multilateral, with the recipient governments. We support management reforms in the major funding agencies to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. To help achieve these objectives, Ireland plays an active role on the executive boards of multilateral institutions. Ireland joined the joint executive board of the UN Development Programme – UNDP – and the UN Population Fund – UNFPA – in January 1998, for a term of three years. We will become a board member of the World Food Programme in 2001 and of UNICEF in 2002. We are a permanent member of the executive committee of the UN High Commission for Refugees.
We have also been strong supporters of the UN reform process launched in 1997 by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This process is improving the co-ordination and effectiveness of UN development agencies at country level. The UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF have all moved to results based budgeting, introduced farreaching management reforms and decentralised their operations to the field.
The multilateral aid programme is an integral component of our overall development co-operation activities. We are working with our partners in the EU and with the UN to ensure that aid delivered through multilateral channels is effective, efficient and reaches those most in need.
Is the Minister of State aware of the concern, particularly among NGOs, about the need to ensure that the aid for which they work so hard and which she and others provide so generously, is directed in such a way as to avoid or eliminate the possibility of it being used as an indirect subsidy for other activities by some recipient countries? In other words, can she ensure that the aid is going directly to those who are most in need and to what extent is she motivating the international community in that regard? This is a growing concern which needs to be addressed.
I am very concerned and frequently reminded by NGOs, particularly Irish NGOs with whom we have an ongoing relationship, that a greater amount of Irish overseas development assistance should be guaranteed to reach the people most in need. NGOs feel they do this best. The Government must take a balanced approach in this regard. Clearly there is a need for a balance in our mix of activities. We are currently reviewing how we spend our overseas development assistance and considering ways to ensure that Irish NGOs, particularly those which are operational, can have a more satisfactory relationship in terms of allocations by the Department. There is a need for the multilateral aspects. Our multilateral contributions, club memberships and voluntary contributions to UN agencies are a very significant part of our overseas development endeavours.
Similarly, our government to government or bilateral programme is extremely important. At the beginning of the overseas development programme, 70% of the ODA budget was given through multilateral contributions. This is now approximately 40% and is probably a more satisfactory balance of contributions on the multilateral side. However, we are evaluating the effectiveness of our multilateral contributions which are significantly increased this year mainly because of increased activity on the UN aid side and also significant additional support for the UNHCR.
