O'Donnell urges regulatory body for agencies

A regulatory body should be set up to ensure greater accountability of relief agencies and other charities, the Minister of State responsible for development, Ms Liz O'Donnell, has suggested. Ms O'Donnell said there was a need for agreed and supervised criteria for the operation of charities. These would cover areas such as the percentage of money which a charity spent on administration, and the amount fund raisers passed on to charity.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of the Irish Aid report, she said Irish people expected nothing less than full accountability from charities in respect of the money they donated. "I look forward to developing these structures with the non-governmental organisations," she said.

Her call was supported by the chief executive of Concern, Mr David Begg, who said other countries had introduced charities regulators to ensure accountability and high standards. Such a move would help the Department of Foreign Affairs separate its foreign policy role from its role as a funder of relief agencies.

The 1996 Irish Aid report shows that the amount this State spends on overseas aid has almost trebled in four years, from £40 million in 1992 to £112 million last year.

Ms O'Donnell yesterday paid tribute to her predecessor, Ms Joan Burton, for laying the foundations for this growth.

In her first major speech on the future direction of aid policy, Ms O'Donnell said Irish Aid would continue to be targeted on Africa. It would also continue to be focused on poverty reduction and would emphasise local ownership of projects.

The Minister attacked as "immoral" the cynicism and despair expressed in some quarters about the value of development co-operation.

Such gloom was unfounded, she said. "In the past three decades, life expectancy around the world has increased by one-third. Infant mortality has been cut in half. These are dramatic examples of what development co-operation has and can achieve."

"At the same time, nearly a third of the developing world's population lives on less than $1 a day. Half the world's population - three billion people - have to subsist on less than $2 a day."

Ms O'Donnell said this was unacceptable, both morally and for reasons of simple common sense and politics. Global stability and prosperity could not be built on foundations of division and injustice.

Referring to the controversy over the manufacture of Dunnes Stores clothes in Burma, the Minister said this had "opened a window on the world for people". The Government would be pressing for additional measures against Burma at the next EU discussion of the country in September.

Human rights, linked to democracy and development, would be a priority of her ministry, Ms O'Donnell added. It was hoped that Irish policy on human rights would "dovetail" with that of the President, Mrs Robinson, when she took up the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Already, the report shows, Irish Aid is spending £1.2 million to support human rights and the democratic process in a number of developing countries. This figure is expected to grow significantly in the near future.