Development Co-operation Reviews: Ireland 1999 [electronic resource] /
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Paris : OECD Publishing,
1999.
The OECD Development Assistance Committee's 1999 review of Ireland's development aid programmes. It finds that in 1999, Ireland marks the 25th anniversary of Irish Aid, its official aid programme. Over the last five years, the volume of Ireland’s official development assistance (ODA) has risen by an average of 20 per cent a year in real terms, the most rapid growth by a Member of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Preliminary data indicate that Ireland’s development co-operation reached 0.30 per cent of GNP in 1998, nearly double its 1992 level, and is projected to reach 0.35 per cent in 1999. After six years of impressive growth in volume and improvement in quality, most of the increase in aid in 1999 is being used for debt relief measures, European Union contributions, emergency humanitarian assistance and support for refugees in Ireland, rather than for allocations for the long-term development programmes administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Political commitments on aid allocations undertaken by the Minister of Finance mean that increases in the Department of Foreign Affairs’ part of the programme are now expected in 2000 and 2001. Two main issues confront the Irish Aid programme: how best to grow and how best to manage that growth. These are clearly issues which Ireland needs to consider and resolve itself, but the Development Assistance Committee can draw on its collective experience to contribute to Ireland’s reflections on these issues. A starting point, from experience elsewhere, is that Irish Aid should maintain and enhance the focused nature of the programme which is now one of its major strengths.
 Summary and Conclusions  -- Chapter 1. Ireland's Expanding Aid Programme  -- Overview of Ireland’s aid programme -- Outlook for Ireland’s aid volume -- How best to grow -- Chapter 2. Policy Basis for Ireland's Aid Programme  -- Irish Aid: Consolidation and Growth -- A Strategy PlanChallenges and Opportunities Abroad: White Paper on Foreign Policy -- Pursuing Ireland’s External Interests: Strategy Statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs  -- -Promoting Ireland’s Interests: Strategy Statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs, 1998-2000 -- -Consolidating Ireland’s development policy and steering growth in the programme  -- Chapter 3. Manageing Ireland's Expanding Aid Programme -- Role, structure and activities of the various delivery channels for Ireland’s Aid -- Development Co-operation Division, Department of Foreign Affairs -- Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO)  -- Council for Overseas Students  -- National Committee for Development Education (NCDE) -- Refugee Agency -- Other departments  -- Internal co-ordination and coherence of national policies towards developing countries -- How best to manage growth in the aid programme -- Managing growth in aid volume -- Human resources  -- Possible organisational options for Ireland’s aid programme -- Chapter 4. Implementing the Development Partnership Strategy  -- Putting partnerships into practice  -- Poverty reduction -- Social development -- Education -- Health, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health  -- Gender equality -- Environmental sustainability  -- Good governance, democracy, human rights and the rule of law  -- Conflict, peace and development and humanitarian aid -- Chapter 5. Particular Features of Ireland's Aid Programme  -- Priority country programmes  -- Area-based programmes  -- Partnership with non-governmental organisations (NGOs)  -- Sector aid  -- Debt relief  -- Public opinion, information and development education  -- Independent monitoring of Ireland’s aid programme -- Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Development Co-operation  -- Irish Aid Advisory Committee (IAAC)  -- Chapter 6. Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Results  -- Staffing issues -- Management systems -- Evaluation  -- Reviews and evaluations of Irish Aid’s priority country programmes  -- Evaluations of other parts of Ireland’s aid programme -- Dissemination of results -- Chapetr 7. Ireland's Assistance through Multilateral Agencies  -- European Union -- United Nations agencies  -- Development banks  -- Co-financing with multilateral agencies: multi-bi assistance  -- Chapter 8. Basic Profiles  -- Aid volume -- Official development assistance (ODA) -- Official aid  -- ODA composition -- Geographic distribution of bilateral ODA -- Sectoral distribution of bilateral ODA -- Technical co-operation -- Procurement policies and aid tying -- Other financial flows to developing and transition countries -- Grants by non-governmental organisations (NGOs)  -- Private flows at market terms  --  Statistical reporting  -- ANNEX I. &nbsp;EVALUATIONS CONDUCTED BY IRISH AID’S EVALUATION AND AUDIT UNIT, 1995-99 -- ANNEX II. &nbsp;STATISTICS OF AID AND OTHER FLOWS  -- PRESS RELEASE OF THE DAC PEER REVIEW OF IRELAND -- DESCRIPTION OF KEY TERMS
The OECD Development Assistance Committee's 1999 review of Ireland's development aid programmes. It finds that in 1999, Ireland marks the 25th anniversary of Irish Aid, its official aid programme. Over the last five years, the volume of Ireland’s official development assistance (ODA) has risen by an average of 20 per cent a year in real terms, the most rapid growth by a Member of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Preliminary data indicate that Ireland’s development co-operation reached 0.30 per cent of GNP in 1998, nearly double its 1992 level, and is projected to reach 0.35 per cent in 1999. After six years of impressive growth in volume and improvement in quality, most of the increase in aid in 1999 is being used for debt relief measures, European Union contributions, emergency humanitarian assistance and support for refugees in Ireland, rather than for allocations for the long-term development programmes administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Political commitments on aid allocations undertaken by the Minister of Finance mean that increases in the Department of Foreign Affairs’ part of the programme are now expected in 2000 and 2001. Two main issues confront the Irish Aid programme: how best to grow and how best to manage that growth. These are clearly issues which Ireland needs to consider and resolve itself, but the Development Assistance Committee can draw on its collective experience to contribute to Ireland’s reflections on these issues. A starting point, from experience elsewhere, is that Irish Aid should maintain and enhance the focused nature of the programme which is now one of its major strengths.
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Development
Development Co-operation Reviews