As I have indicated, the provisional outturn for the aid programme in 2000 was approximately £210 million, of which £138 million is under the direct control of Ireland Aid through the Department of Foreign Affairs. Non-government organisations received approximately £19 million directly from the Department of Foreign Affairs. In addition, it is estimated that approximately £8.35 million was dispersed to NGOs via APSO and the NCDE – both organisations are directly funded by Ireland Aid. Therefore, in 2000, a total of £27.35 million was allocated to NGOs which represents almost 20% of the funds under direct Ireland Aid control for expenditure purposes. A number of Irish NGOs also receive considerable funding from multilateral agencies such as the UN and the EU to which the Government contributes from its overseas development assistance budget.
The figures alluded to by the Deputy in relation to Concern and GOAL refer to 1999. In that year Ireland's aid programme amounted to £181.4 million, of which £110 million was under the direct control of Ireland Aid. NGOs received approximately £24.6 million which is equivalent to about 22% of funds under the direct control of Ireland Aid for expenditure purposes. A little over £5 million was allocated to GOAL and Concern from Ireland Aid funds, including APSO, in 1999, that is, 20% of the funding provided to NGOs. In addition both NGOs received over £6.5 million from EU funding mechanisms supported by Ireland Aid. A detailed breakdown of individual funding allocations for all NGOs and missionary groups, including GOAL and Concern, is set out in the Ireland Aid annual reports which are available in the Oireachtas Library.