Madam, - As chairperson of the independent audit committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs, I would like to state that the headline and the introduction to Paul Cullen's front-page article of December 19th are not consistent with the opinions of the audit committee as expressed in our annual report.
The annual report does not in fact reveal major deficiencies in the management of €500 million in overseas aid spending, nor does it say there are a significant number of material deficiencies in the accounting procedures and internal controls of aid agencies.
The audit committee draws attention to the excellent international reputation that Irish Aid enjoys, basing this comment on the findings of reviews completed by international peers with experience in evaluating aid programmes.
The committee articulates many comments and recommendations in a constructive spirit, framed with sincere respect for the dynamic and thoughtful members of the Department of Foreign Affairs with whom we have the privilege of interacting.
At no stage did any representative of The Irish Times communicate with me. If they had done so, I believe that the headline, the tone and the emphasis of Paul Cullen's report would have been considerably different. - Yours, etc,
GERARD O'CONNOR, Chairperson, Audit Committee, Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin 10.
Paul Cullen writes:The article accurately recorded the contents of the report, which found that: no fraud policy has been finalised and approved at Irish Aid; staffing levels in the audit and evaluation unit are barely adequate; staff shortages threaten the international reputation of Irish Aid; and there are serious concerns and real risks about decentralisation to Limerick.
The reference to "material weaknesses and deficiencies" in the accounting procedures of partner organisations comes from a 2003 report quoted without demurral in Fr O'Connor's report, which states that these need to be addressed.