Aid for Irish UN group ruled out

MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin ruled out resumed Government aid for the Irish United Nations Association.

He was responding to Labour foreign affairs spokesman Michael D Higgins, who called for funding to reconstitute the association to promote public understanding and knowledge of UN activities in the Republic.

Mr Martin suggested the priority for the association should be to reform its structures and procedures in line with the recommendations set out in the review and audit undertaken on the department’s behalf in 2007 and 2008.

“I encourage the association to seek to engage with private donors following on from implementation of the necessary structural and procedural reforms recommended in these reports, including efforts to expand its membership base,’’ he added.

Mr Higgins said President Mary McAleese was the association’s patron. “It is also a member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations,’’ he added.

“During its history, it ran into difficulties and was reformed, thus breathing new life into it.’’ Mr Higgins referred to “the crudeness of the McCarthy suggestions, particularly those on foreign affairs’’.

He added that Mr Martin’s predecessor was on the review group advising Kofi Annan on UN reform. “It would have been ideal had we at least left some seed money so that it could be reformed,’’ said Mr Higgins.

He suggested the Minister set aside a nominal sum while a review took place. Mr Martin said the feedback he received about outputs and activity levels was not good.

He said the association was a non-governmental organisation based in Dublin, with the objectives of promoting the aims and activities of the UN and its specialised agencies in Ireland.

It had received funding from the department to achieve those objectives from 1972 onwards, with €60,000 allocated last year.

His department, he said, had also provided advice on strategy and internal governance procedures. After a review of departmental expenditure last year, and taking into account the recommendations of the McCarthy report that funding for the association should cease, no allocation for grant aid was made this year.