Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
224. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade what mechanisms are used by her Department to verify the end-use of Irish humanitarian funding provided to Gaza and the West Bank, whether Ireland operates or participates in any independent verification or tracing system beyond partner self-reporting, and to outline the limitations of current verification arrangements. [3952/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra228. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to clarify the extent of direct control exercised by the Irish State over the allocation and distribution of humanitarian funding provided to Gaza and the West Bank, and to state whether she is satisfied that current arrangements provide sufficient accountability to the Irish taxpayer. [3956/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 228 together.
Through the international development programme, Irish Aid, the Government has provided €102 million in humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinian people since January 2023. Last week, we announced an additional €42 million in assistance for 2026. The management and allocation of this funding is subject to the management procedures of the Department of Foreign Affairs, working with its humanitarian and development partners. As a donor of humanitarian and development funding, Ireland partners with multilateral and non-governmental humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade prioritises the management of risk with all of its partner organisations. Ireland's funding to organisations in Gaza and West Bank is subject to:
• the same governance, audit and compliance conditions as all of the Department's other partners, globally. These conditions are set out in the Department’s Standard Approach to Grant Management, and include review of partners' capacities and flows of funds.
• 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 assesses the Department's internal controls.
• partner organisations' internal oversight mechanisms to ensure accountability and minimize the risk of diversion in each stage of aid delivery. Typical mechanisms include vetting of staff, sub-partners, and suppliers; and supply chain tracking involving inspections and scanning at border crossings and logistics facilities.
These arrangements are designed to provide accountability to donors. However, we recognise that there are significant, inherent risks to aid delivery in challenging and dangerous environments such as Gaza. A Risk Management Solutions Group (RMSG) comprised of donors, UN, and international NGO representatives is currently is working to strengthen existing safeguards to promote aid transparency and reduce the risk of diversion into and within Gaza through measures that are proportional to the assessed risk.
