Irish foreign aid should be run by semi-State, says report

Ireland's overseas aid programme should be hived off from the Department of Foreign Affairs and given to a semi-State body, according to a new report.

A "stand-alone" body could recruit professional aid staff, leaving the Department to concentrate on formulating policies, the report by the International NGO Training and Research Centre, a British consulting firm, recommends.

INTRAC says Civil Service and Department of Finance rules are "constraining" the efficiency of the aid programme.

The report was commissioned by Concern as part of its submission to a review of Ireland Aid which is in progress.

INTRAC calls for major reforms of the way in which Ireland Aid is run.

Ireland Aid's current budget of £200 million a year is set to rise to more than £800 million following the Government's promise to meet United Nations targets on aid by 2007.

The report calls for improved conditions of employment for staff at Ireland Aid, many of whom are on short-term contracts, plus a programme for inducting recruits and a system of secondments with international bodies to enhance staff experience.

It says responsibility for the aid department should remain with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, with a dedicated junior aid minister to oversee its work. The proportion of aid going to multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and UN agencies should not be increased, warns the report. It is especially critical of the "poor" reputation of the EU's aid budget, and calls on member-states to get more involved in reforming this agency.

The Agency for Personal Service Overseas could be merged into the new body, the report suggests. The APSO is under pressure to change, due to the declining popularity of overseas service and the increasing trend for developing countries to source basic skills at home.