Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate both Mr. Soares and Mr. Haverty on that most interesting document. It is a pity the people of Ireland would not even know the figures and the reality of the lack of movement, North and South. It is sad. It needs some political driver to make this happen. It is complete nonsense. The figures are so poor. When one considers all the people going back and forth, over to Europe and England, on Erasmus. The young people go off anywhere at the drop of a hat. On the lack of respect for the mutual qualifications, who do they think could drive this or who should drive it to change this ridiculous situation? It is a first-class paper. I really appreciate it. It was eye-opening for me. I am familiar with all the other areas where there is not movement, but that was an eye-opener. I thank them very much.

On the funding of Ms Taillon's centre, it should be of considerable concern to the committee, and it is a shock to learn, that there is no specific funding in PEACE IV for cross-Border projects. We should support Ms Taillon's proposal that 15% of PEACE IV be ring-fenced for cross-Border projects. I recommend the work of the centre in supporting the analysis of the economic challenges of the Border region, North and South. I am aware of the support the centre is providing to the Border development steering committee, which my husband chairs. We both have a deep commitment to work in consolidating the peace process. The steering committee is seeking to build co-operation for a number of priority areas, such as tourism, Border roads, etc.

I thank Ms Taillon. My colleague, Deputy Feighan, and I are on a committee to visit the prisoners on both sides, the loyalists and republicans. Even in the prisons, there is this sense that there is no awareness of the situation in the prisons for loyalists and republican prisoners, that if they do not get their rights, which are undeniably human rights, it will affect the peace on the ground outside. Deputy Ó Cuív and I participated in a meeting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Ms Theresa Villiers, in the British Embassy here and I found her lack of understanding and empathy astounding. She had no empathy for the political situation, in particular, on the prisons issue.