Overview

Responsibility for Irish foreign policy, including assistance to developing countries, lies in the first instance with the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Particular responsibility for policy on Development Cooperation is assigned to a Minister of State.

The Development Cooperation Directorate, one of ten Divisions within the Department of Foreign Affairs, is responsible for administering Ireland’s Development Cooperation programme. The work of the Directorate is carried out by nine sections, and is broken down as follows:

• UN (Multilateral Assistance)
• EU (Multilateral Assistance)
• Programme Countries (Bilateral Assistance)
• Emergency and Recovery
• Civil Society, Human Rights & Democratisation
• Eastern Europe (Bilateral Assistance)
• Technical and Specialist Support
• Evaluation and Audit
• Communications, Information and Development Education
• Support Services

UN (Multilateral Assistance)

The UN Multilateral section is responsible for Irish Aid's contributions to UN Funds, Programmes and Specialised Agencies. It implements Ireland’s policy of actively seeking membership of Executive Boards of UN agencies as a way of influencing the policies of these agencies.  It works to support Irish participation at the highest level at major global conferences, such as the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS.

The three largest recipients of Irish Aid's voluntary contributions to UN development agencies are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

EU (Multilateral Assistance)

The EU Multilateral section provides advice to the Minister on Ireland’s participation in the formulation and implementation of EU Development Policies. In particular, it is responsible for Ireland’s contribution to the European Development Fund, which is associated with the Cotonou Agreement, the most recent formal agreement governing the aid framework between the EU Member States and the ACP countries (the 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific states).

Programme Countries (Bilateral Assistance)

The Programme Countries section is the primary interface between the bilateral Country programmes and DCI. It coordinates and supports the implementation of the programmes in line with Country Strategy Papers and with Irish Aid principles. Overall responsibility for the management and day-to-day implementation of individual Country Programmes lies with the Irish Embassy in that country. The Programme Countries section facilitates communication between sections in the Development Cooperation Directorate and the Embassies in the Programme Countries.

Emergency and Recovery Assistance

The Emergency and Recovery Section is responsible for the timely and effective delivery of Ireland’s humanitarian assistance, which is mainly channelled through Irish and international NGOs, UN agencies such as the UN High Commission for Refugees and international organisations such as the International Committee for the Red Cross. The Section administers the Irish Aid Recovery Assistance Fund, which provides recovery and reconstruction assistance to countries emerging from conflict or large-scale disaster.

Civil Society, Human Rights and Democratisation

The Civil Society section is responsible for the development and implementation of a civil society development policy for the Irish Aid programme. It is the primary interface between Irish Aid and the Development NGO community.  It supports and monitors the implementation of the Multi Annual Partnership Scheme (MAPS), the HIV/AIDS Partnership Scheme (HAPS) the NGO Co-financing scheme and the In-country Micro-projects scheme. The Section administers a Human Rights and Democratisation Scheme which assist human rights, democratisation and governance activities outside the Irish Aid Programme Countries.

Eastern Europe (Bilateral Assistance)

The Eastern Europe desk is responsible for the Eastern Europe Development Cooperation Scheme which covers the countries of Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, the Russian Federation and many of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The desk supports and monitors projects funded under the scheme, carried out by NGOs (Irish, international and local NGOs from the region), by the UN Agencies (UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR), and the Council of Europe. The desk also administers the disbursement of funds from the Stability Pact for South East Europe Budget line which aims to develop a shared strategy for stability and growth in South East Europe including the Western Balkans.

Technical and Specialist Support

The Technical and Specialist Section was established in 2003 with the objective of providing technical oversight and support for a complex and expanding Irish Aid programme. It is established as a flexible unit which can respond to diverse needs right across the programme.

Key responsibilities of the Section include the development of sectoral policies and guidelines; the provision of advise regarding the use of different aid instruments; providing guidance and participation in the planning of expenditure programmes; ensuring policy coherence and institutional memory; representing Irish Aid at international meetings and linking in with international best practice; and contracting research and technical support which is relevant to programme needs.

Evaluation and Audit

As its name implies, this section is responsible for evaluation and audit functions across the Irish Aid programme. The Evaluation and Audit section conducts an active schedule of evaluations and audits with a view to searching continuously for improvements in programme implementation and to maintaining high standards of accountability in the Irish Aid programme.  It underwent a Strategic and Operational Review in 2001. One outcome of this review was the introduction of a Risk Management System into DCI.

Communications, Information and Development Education

This section is responsible for increasing public awareness and public ownership of the Irish Aid programme, and for deepening public understanding of the underlying causes of global inequality and injustice. Key responsibilities of the section are the development and implementation of a communications strategy for the Irish Aid programme, responding to information requests, implementation of the new three-year strategy plan for development education, “Deepening Public Understanding of International Development”, and the administration of the Development Education Grants Scheme, which aims to enable groups and organisations to implement development education projects and programmes and to undertake research.

Support Services

The Support Services section deals with a range of corporate functions, including human resources, internal coordination, accounts, statistics and input to the annual Estimates process.  This section also monitors and advises on the commissioning of consultancies. Irish Aid commissions consultancies in circumstances where specialized knowledge or skills are not available in-house or where an independent evaluation of programmes or of funding proposals is required.