Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his presentation. Were any organisations or projects suspended owing to fraud or because they were not being run properly? Are there projects or agencies under the remit of the Department under investigation in terms of the manner in which funding was spent? How does the Department police the spend of funding on projects? How does it ensure money is spent in the areas for which it is provided?

I acknowledge the Minister of State's comments in regard to the Irish missionaries abroad. I recall speaking at a function a few years ago in Lusaka at which there were a number of missionaries in attendance. As I said on that occasion, the missionaries are the true ambassadors for Ireland abroad. They are the people who make the Irish feel welcome and wanted. When I visited the Parliament in Lusaka, I met 14 members of Parliament who were taught by Irish missionaries, which is phenomenal. It is because of the work of the Irish missionaries down through the years that Ireland is held in such high esteem abroad and St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in so many countries around the world. We are, unfortunately, running out of missionaries to send abroad. However, as I said, those we have are doing tremendous work on the ground. I once met a nun who was 74 years old and had left Donegal at 17 years of age. Her order wanted to bring her home to retire but she did not want to come home. She said that she had lived all of her life in Lusaka and she did not want to go back to wet and windy Ireland. Perhaps the order should take that on board and should stop forcing people home to come home and spend the remainder of their lives in Ireland where all too often the weather is miserable.