Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Colgan. It is good to see the briefing on developments and new operational programmes. Across Ireland, England, Scotland and Europe, it is vital that we target youth unemployment.

I live in County Roscommon 30 or 40 miles from the Border. Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal are wonderful counties, but a county can sometimes be excluded. To my east is County Leitrim and to my north west is County Sligo.

I understand there are initiatives to include such areas, but if we are moving into the west of Scotland maybe it is time to expand. I am quite sure that many projects have been trawled and examined with a view to joint participation, but it may now be time to come down a few miles to try to include that area also. There are opportunities there, and it is not for the want of tapping into this fund. Where I live was the home of the Connaught Rangers in which, 100 years ago during the First World War, Nationalists and Unionists fought side by side. Because of our history these men were forgotten, but history can be an effective uniting force, as I see when I go to the Skainos Centre, the Shankill Road or even to the Falls Road. Many men from the Falls Road joined the Connaught Rangers in Roscommon because they wanted to be part of a nationalist force. If we wanted to undertake some cross-Border memorial or education project on the Connaught Rangers, what would be the best way to access funding to build a centre?

I welcome the emphasis on energy efficiency in a cross-Border context. The way forward is not what we make but what we save. I look forward to the witnesses' comments.