Michael P. Kitt
Ceist:38 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of issues and situations which led to increased contributions to international organisations in the 1995 Estimates.[3857/95]
Written Answers. - Funding of International Organisations.
A provision of £8.9 million has been included in the 1995 Estimates (Subhead A of the International Co-operation Vote) to cover Ireland's contributions to international organisations in the current year. The comparable provision was £7.5 million in the 1994 Estimates. The provisional outturn on the subhead was £6.562 million.
The Subhead A provision goes to meet Ireland's contributions, which in almost every instance are mandatory, to the following organisations: United Nations; Council of Europe; GATT; OECD; UNIDO and Intergovernmental Legal Bodies. In addition, it covers Ireland's contributions to the EU Monitor Mission in former Yugoslavia and the Preparatory Commission for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Any contribution payable by Ireland in 1995 towards the costs of the Transitional Secretariat for the proposed New Forum for Multilateral Export Controls within the GATT/WTO framework will also be met from this subhead.
The sizeable increase in the 1995 Subhead A provision is accounted for by particular factors as follows:
(a) UN contribution: the increased UN provision arises in part from the increase in Ireland's rate of assessment (both for the regular UN budget and peacekeeping operations) to 0.2 per cent in 1995 as compared to 0.18 per cent previously. In addition, the allocation includes approximately 0.5 million to cover mandatory assessments for peacekeeping operations which had been anticipated would arise for payment in late 1994 but which in the event fell for payment in early 1995.
In estimating the UN provision, allowance was also made for the anticipated additional expenditure which could arise for this country as part of the continuing increase in the number and size of UN peacekeeping operations. The dramatic growth in peacekeeping expenditure by the UN in recent years, coupled with the uncertainty as to whether individual assessments will arise for payment at the end of one financial year or early in the following year, has made it very difficult to forecast accurately the extent of our assessed contribution to the peacekeeping budget in any given year.
(b) GATT contribution: in keeping with previous practice, provision was made in the 1994 Estimates for payment in December 1994 of the estimated 1995 assessment for GATT/World Trade Organisation since the payment in question was due as at 1 January 1995. In the event the assessment in question had not arrived in the Department prior to 31 December 1994 and provision for the amount involved — approximately £367,000 — had to be made in the 1995 Estimates.
(c) Other organisations: the increase in the overall 1995 allocation is also accounted for, in smaller part, by increases in the contributions payable in the case of certain of the other organisations concerned.
Only the funds actually required to cover the contributions to the various international organisations will be drawn down and, in accordance with normal practice, any balance remaining will revert to the Exchequer.