BUREARUCRATIC PROCEDURES and red tape in some recipient countries were hindering Irish development aid supplies from reaching their targets, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report launched yesterday at Leinster House.
In an interim report on the expenditure and value for money of Irish Aid, the development division of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the committee recommended that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and missionaries, given their vast experience, be granted a formal role in the deployment of aid.
Recipient governments needed to address "capacity bottlenecks" which hindered the effectiveness of aid programmes, and delivery mechanisms for aid should be subject to continuing review, according to the committee.
Chairman Bernard Allen TD said the committee was concerned that, as funding increased, spending control mechanisms and methods to ensure value for money would be put in place.
"The committee acknowledges the commitment and capability of all those involved in Irish Aid and we are satisfied that public funds are not being misused . . . But given the forecast growth in this area . . . the committee will maintain an active scrutiny role of the Irish Aid budget," Mr Allen said.
Five members of the committee visited various projects run by NGOs and missionaries in Zambia and South Africa in May to review the efficiency of Irish Aid.
The majority of Irish Aid funding goes to nine countries: Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Funding is also provided to NGOs (including Concern and Goal), missionaries and to international organisations such as the UN and the European Development Fund. In addition, Irish Aid has had a programme in South Africa since 1994 contributing to the government's objectives of reducing poverty and inequality.
Commenting on the report, Goal's John O'Shea called for the appointment of an ombudsman for the aid sector. "This report highlights yet again the huge risks the Irish Government is taking with taxpayers' money.
"Corruption has become endemic in Zambia in the last 13 years. It has had devastating effects on the people and considerably slowed down economic development," he said.
"The contradictions of the Irish Government's aid policy are quite baffling," said Mr O'Shea. "Micheál Martin recently stated that he did not want to see a single penny of Irish taxpayers' money channelled through the Robert Mugabe regime. He deserves great credit for that. Yet we don't seem to have any problem with hundreds of millions being routed through African governments which are every bit as corrupt.
"The introduction of an ombudsman would help in ensuring that only those with a genuine interest in helping the poorest of the poor would handle Irish taxpayers' money."