James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was delighted to have the Minister speak on a digital call with groups in my constituency recently. He made a point about funding being devolved through the Department to different organisations, including education and training boards. I often find that those organisations have their own agenda. Sometimes, geographical areas are left out. Unfortunately, Youghal, which is a town I am passionate about because I was born and raised there, has struggled to get grant support through the departmental grant mechanisms, because it is devolved to different units which have their own serious priorities in different regions of County Cork, which is extraordinarily large. I can get from my house in Youghal to Leinster House quicker than I can get to the other side of County Cork. That gives an idea of the geographical scale of County Cork. Will the Minister look at whether there is a balanced distribution of funding to different geographical areas, which is really important for a constituency like Cork?

See this speech in context