Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My question is something of a follow-up one and I am interested to hear Mr. Murphy's response. We have talked about how there can be a deficit in capacity when it comes to applying for funds. There is a crossover between ensuring there is proper accountability and transparency and facilitating ease of access for people to put in proposals. I see this in some of my meetings with the special EU programmes body, SEUPB, and in respect of particular projects. At one stage, my wife worked on a project that had INTERREG funding and was operating on a North-South basis and in Scotland as well. She experienced the same issue. That project involved programmes for early childhood education training, the changing lives initiative and training of parents, teachers, etc. in certain methodologies. I have been told by groups and organisations over the years about the very rigorous stuff that sometimes needs to be done involving multiple receipts and so on. It would be a three prices on a light bulb type of scenario. In fairness, the last time I met with the SEUPB, the people there told me that some of the problem is to do with home-grown laws, particularly stuff that relates to health. It is sometimes the case, for example, that it is the northern health boards or the HSE creating a level of difficulty.

What sorts of conversations are happening in Europe in regard to streamlining? I recognise some of that conversation will have to take place at the domestic level. I also accept we need overall transparency and for someone like Mr. Murphy, whether at European or domestic level, to make sure it is not a case of "one for you and two for me" and all the rest of it. However, we also need to make sure projects can be delivered and people are not caught up in bureaucracy. Sometimes when proposals are put in and people are trying to access money for services, they get hamstrung on the basis of incredibly difficult procurement scenarios. I am wondering what the conversation is in regard to streamlining and whether the Court of Auditors is party to it. As I said, I accept that much of this probably needs to happen at a domestic level. It is like every other situation in that we need to get all the stakeholders in the room and ask them to come up with a workable solution, which does not always happen.