Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The political analysis offered by the Deputy is fair. We all hope to avoid the worst of Brexit and we are all working to do that. The Deputy and his party have been very clear in their support in trying to ensure we can do that. However, we will move to a very challenging period in the next number of months and the value of these programmes will become even greater if the uncertainty grows.

The greatest contribution that could be made to our efforts in this area would be the restoration of the Good Friday Agreement institutions and the Stormont Assembly so that public representatives in Northern Ireland could actively campaign for these programmes and acknowledge their value. It is extremely important that this should happen as we move into planning a post-Brexit relationship and how that will affect these programmes. I assure the Deputy that I have seen the results of these programmes and I know how valuable they are. I will be working as hard as I can to ensure a good future for these kinds of programmes, which have made a difference for Border communities.

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