7 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will consider a new layout of Estimates to include a spending line for non-governmental organisations in order that such expenditure will be more transparent and easily identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27359/99]

Ireland Aid values its partnership with NGOs. This partnership benefits the NGOs through financial assistance and the bilateral aid programme through the experience of NGOs. As the recent OECD review of Ireland Aid confirmed, our funding of NGOs is high by international standards.