Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim comhghairdeas leis an mbeirt acu agus tá súil agam go leanfaidh an obair atá os a gcomhair go han-mhaith.

Is there space for new organisations to apply for funding or are we funding the same organisations that we have funded historically? Is there a space if somebody else is looking for funding? For example, on North-South and Anglo-Irish co-operation, we have met quite a number of the groups. I was a member of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and some of these groups are in existence for quite a while. I wonder whether there is an audit of them and if the Minister looks at them with a fresh eye each time they apply. I am conscious this morning of the story that has broken about governance issues in another organisation.

My other question also relates to the North. There are difficulties and there are people who feel left behind by the Good Friday Agreement. I wonder whether there is a space within this programme. As the Minister will be aware, some of us have been visiting Maghaberry prison and other prisons and engaging with both loyalist and republican dissidents. I ask whether there is a space within this programme for working with that particular group because it is in everybody's interest that there is a conflict-free environment.