Ireland's overseas development aid is not in any danger of being siphoned off by corrupt African leaders, it was claimed tonight. Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs Conor Lenihan said funding from his department was being effectively monitored so that it reaches its designated projects.
"Ireland's overseas development aid policy has been positively evaluated by the OECD and funding has been adequately monitored and tracked to its destination," Mr Lenihan told the European Affairs Committee.
Labour spokesman on European Affairs Ruairi Quinn predicted a "populist backlash" across the EU in coming years if overseas aid is allowed to be siphoned away from needy communities into overseas bank accounts of corrupt African leaders.
But Mr Lenihan, who has direct responsibility for overseas development aid, said: "To date, nothing of that serious nature has occurred in relation to Irish taxpayers' funds."
Mr Quinn called for bank deposits by such politicians to be outlawed as criminal lodgements in EU member states. Mr Quinn, who was an observer at independence elections in Zimbabwe in 1980, said that country "has effectively been impoverished by political actions".
"The nearest equivalent would be Argentina and how it screwed up its own country through bad politics. "There is a certain guilt syndrome among EU states including the Irish because we were foot soldiers in the administration of the British empire (in Africa) and we shouldn't try to hide that fact," he added.
Mr Lenihan confirmed the Government is considering withdrawing €2 million of aid from Uganda because of its anti-democratic practices. "We don't do this lightly and are awaiting further assessments of political reforms within the country which we felt as a donor country were not being achieved quickly enough," he said.
The minister said these reforms included constitutional changes and the introduction of a multi-party democracy. He said Ireland was currently funding anti-corruption watchdogs to promote systems of good governance in African countries.
Committee vice-chairman Barry Andrews called for tax incentive laws on charitable donations to be simplified so that donors have easy access to tax relief for pledges.