Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity today. I was looking forward to this session for months and the information the witnesses can give us. We are excited about the opportunities and what can be done under this programme. I welcome the CEO of Galway Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Kenneth Deery. It shows the huge level of interest. I welcome the people watching online today to see how we can make this work. Does the lead partner have to be from the North? No. It can be any of the local authorities. Let me get this right: any of the local authorities across the country can be involved in this. Does it have to come through the local authority or can local community groups engage directly with Pobal and the special EU programmes body? Will the witnesses explain that process? If there is a women's group watching today from County Cork, how does it go about engaging with the special EU programmes body? I went on the portal while the witnesses were talking. I advise everybody to sign up to the portal to get the information and notifications of when the different streams are on board. It is very useful and user-friendly. How can a women's group in County Mayo - we will pick Mayo, not Cork - engage with this process?