Mr. Chris Quinn:

I will not repeat what my colleagues said but I agree with everything that has been said before me. To build on Ms Farrell's point, we need action. We talk regularly to decision makers and at times, it feels like there is a lack of action and a lack of follow-up. Regarding a focus for solutions, as the committee has heard, much of our work is ad hoc. I am trying to keep an organisation afloat during a pandemic and a global economic downturn, when unfortunately the Department of Education in Northern Ireland has ripped an axe through the voluntary youth sector and many organisations underneath it. We are working with vulnerable young people and trying to bring them to tables like this one today, which takes much work.

On a solution focus, perhaps there is an opportunity with PEACE PLUS to bring much-needed resources to organisations such as ours. PEACE has been kind to our sector and our organisation, and to me personally. It has kept me in a job for many years. The problem with PEACE funding, as one will hear often, is the bureaucracy that comes with it. If the committee has any influence around the tables it is at, I ask it to ensure that PEACE PLUS enables us to do more for sustained North-South, east-west co-operation. If at all possible, could it look at the level of bureaucracy? The paperwork that comes with these things often takes away from doing the face-to-face work that is so important. If we get PEACE PLUS right, that might be an opportunity for civic society organisations to do sustained work on North-South and east-west co-operation.