Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
93. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department provides aid to Egypt; if so, if he will provide a breakdown of the amount of aid that was allocated to Egypt and spent on a year by year basis since 2007 to date; if Ireland contributes indirectly to aid in Egypt through the European Union or otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37456/13]
View answerEgypt is not a priority country for the Government’s aid programme, managed by Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. However, we have provided funding in recent years to organisations working in Egypt on initiatives to promote human rights and good governance. Funding since 2007 has included a total of €500,000 in 2011 and 2012 to support the organisation of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The funding was channelled through the United Nations Development Programme in Egypt. Through the Irish Aid Civil Society Fund, a three-year grant of €150,000 was approved in 2011 for the international organisation, Civicus, for a programme of work in Egypt to strengthen the voices of African civil society at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and at the United Nations Human Rights Council. This work is carried out in partnership with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. Just over €15,000 was provided to Frontline Defenders in 2012 to support Egyptian Human Rights defenders.
Through our Embassy in Cairo, we have also provided funding for local NGOs to implement relatively small projects in education, training, health, water and sanitation, micro-enterprise development and democratic governance.
The following table sets out total Irish Aid direct funding for Egypt on an annual basis since 2007:
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2013 to date |
€106,815 |
|
2012 |
€388,203 |
|
2011 |
€550,173 |
|
2010 |
€89,370 |
|
2009 |
€201,981 |
|
2008 |
€235,087 |
|
2007 |
€257,847 |
Ireland also contributes our share of the EU Development Cooperation Budget, which has provided some €892 million for development programmes in Egypt since 2007, under the European Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument.
