Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the delegates for the delay in reaching them. Between votes and other distractions, we are behind schedule. I welcome the representatives of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and look forward to getting their insight into the journey from prison to peace and efforts towards conflict transformation by way of bottom-up projects. The bottom-up approach is of particular interest to the committee in its deliberations. I am aware of some of the delegates' work, having recently attended a Prison to Peace conference in Armagh. It was an interesting discussion which gave me a taste of what they were seeking to achieve. I commend them for their work.

The committee does not claim to have a monopoly of answers to any of these issues. Our objective is to have an open door policy which facilitates a variety of opinions and shades of opinions. We respect people's different viewpoints and try to provide a space for their expression. We hope the delegates will find a welcoming forum for their views today and we will also have input from members. I will not go through the advice on privilege which has been circulated to delegates. I am sure they will bear it in mind. I invite Ms Kilmurray to make an opening statement.