Committee of Public Accounts to examine 2019 Appropriation Accounts with Department of Foreign Affairs

·       Vote 27 – International Co-operation;

·       Vote 28 – Foreign Affairs and Trade; and

·       C&AG’s 2018 Report: Chapter 8 – Controls over humanitarian assistance funding.   

The Committee will hear from the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy, followed by officials from the Department led by the Secretary General, Niall Burgess, and Ruairí de Búrca, Director General of Irish Aid.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs had gross expenditure of €266m in 2019 and had more than 1,700 staff based in Ireland and in diplomatic and consular missions across the globe, as well as in Belfast and Armagh. The Committee is interested in the work of the Department, including the cost of operating and maintaining these missions, its property portfolio and assets abroad, the increase in demand for Irish passports post-Brexit and spending in relation to cross-border and international programmes.

“In 2019, Irish Aid had a Budget of €542million and 260 employees based in Limerick and more than a dozen missions in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Among the areas for examination are the controls on spending on humanitarian assistances programmes in Africa and the Middle East, in particular in Syria and Palestine, as well as the funding provided for Irish NGOs and missionary programmes. The Committee looks forward to a wide-ranging discussion with Mr Burgess and Mr de Búrca and their colleagues.”

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas.ie.

PAC is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.