Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
223. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade what governance, audit, and compliance conditions are attached to Irish Exchequer funding provided to UNRWA since January 2023, what additional oversight measures have been introduced following international concerns regarding UNRWA governance, and whether any Irish funding has been suspended, redirected, or made conditional as a result. [3951/26]
View answer225. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether her Department has conducted any risk assessments since January 2023 regarding the potential diversion or misuse of Irish humanitarian funding provided to Gaza and the West Bank, and if so, to outline the findings, mitigation measures applied, and any changes made to funding delivery models. [3953/26]
View answer226. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade how many audits, evaluations, or compliance reviews have been conducted since January 2023 in respect of Irish-funded programmes in Gaza and the West Bank, which organisations were audited, whether any material weaknesses or adverse findings were identified, and what corrective actions were taken. [3954/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 225 and 226 together.
Through our international development programme, the Government has consistently provided significant development and humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. This support has been scaled up since the start of the conflict in Gaza in October 2023. Last week, we announced a further €42 million in assistance for 2026, including €20 million in funding to support the work of UNRWA.
In 2023, as part the Department's ongoing oversight measures, the Evaluation and Audit Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade carried out an internal audit of grant funding to humanitarian NGOs operating in the West Bank and Gaza. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of risk management and internal controls in place governing the funding of NGOs through our programme of assistance for Palestine. The period covered by the audit was 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. No significant issues were identified and a small number of recommendations were made which are being addressed by the Department.
In conjunction with this, an audit of Ireland's diplomatic mission in Ramallah was also conducted. The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the risk management and internal control systems of the Representative Office, with particular emphasis on internal financial controls. No significant issues were identified and the recommendations made have all been addressed by the Department.
As a trusted partner organisation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, UNWRA, in common with all our partners, is subject to the governance, audit and compliance conditions set out in the Department's 'tandard Approach to Grant Management. These include a detailed analysis of partner capacity, reporting and audit. This is complemented by the Department’s counter-fraud policy, legislation and procedures on protected disclosure, information on whistleblowing, and appropriate monitoring.
All of the Department’s partnerships, including with UNRWA, are subject to robust internal and external controls, including audit and evaluation, managed by the Department's independent Evaluation and Audit Unit and validated by the external Audit Committee. The Comptroller and Auditor General also assesses this Department's internal controls.
UNRWA is mandated by the UN General Assembly to provide vital services for Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, and elsewhere in the region. It is the largest humanitarian organisation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Multiple Reviews of its work, structures and effectiveness have been carried by international bodies, including the EU and the UN:
• A European Commission review in late 2023 found that "the existing safeguards in place- which have been significantly strengthened in the past years - work well and no evidence has been found to date that money has been diverted for unintended purposes".
• A further review by the EU in January 2024 resulted in the restoration of suspended EU and indicated the EU’s support to the UN’s initiative to establish an independent Review Group to appraise UNRWA.
• Two major reviews were commissioned by the UN: the independent review, knowsn as the Colonna Report and the Office of Internal Oversight Report. They found that UNWRA was committed to upholding the humanitarian principle of neutrality. The Colonna Report found no evidence supporting Israel's claims of staff involvement in Hamas attacks but made a series of recommendations on governance, staff vetting and oversight.
Ireland has engaged closely with UNRWA on its response to allegations and concerns expressed by Israel. We have emphasised our strong support for the organisation and its work and have not suspended any funding to it.
