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

I also follow up with our support and solidarity, particularly at this time as we look forward to Pride. We accept that huge strides have been made over the past 50 years but there is still a hell of a lot more to do and we need to ensure that everything is done to ensure absolute equality for all those in the LGBTQI+ community.

I wish to raise an issue relating to Outcomers. The Minister and I have attended a number of events there and he sees the quality of the work it does and the supports it provides, particularly for young people in this community. There have been some funding successes but once again we need to deal with the wider issue of multi-annual funding. I know from talking to Outcomers that it is about ensuring it has the core funding to ensure it has all the support workers it requires to deliver that service. Even though Outcomers has been successful - at the end of 2022, it received €60,000 - it is not sure about getting that next year. I could go on but the House gets the point. We need to support groups like Outcomers that are undertaking significant work. All NGOs will talk about the difficulties they face without multi-annual funding to ensure they can be strategic in their plans and initiatives and deliver what needs to be delivered.

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