Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We had a group down here last week from Co-operation Ireland. They were unionist community workers in the main and they argued that they have been left behind and have not benefitted in any way from the peace process or from anything else. Is that because they or their communities have not been proactive enough or where does Ms McIntyre see the problem? I would be interested in her comments because I believe we have to bring all of the communities together, particularly as we are looking at Ireland becoming an economic area. Everybody has to be comfortable in their skin with that notion and nobody has to feel threatened. That might have little to do with Brexit in the short term but long-term it will have an impact on how we, as two parts of the island, jointly try to tackle the problems.

Second, an organisation like the SEUPB is constantly planning for the future and developing new programmes. Has the organisation now reached a cliff edge, unsure of where it is going after 2020? I understand that funding is guaranteed to 2020 but certainly, based on the visitors we have had here from the House of Commons and the House of Lords, there will be no money coming from Westminster towards anything unless some sort of new bilateral agreement in put in place. Has the SEUPB just stopped dead in its tracks and said what we have right now we hold?