Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Farrell for raising the shared island youth forum. It has been really good success. I had a chance to meet with them in Dublin a few months ago. It brings together 80 young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are meeting over the course of a year to set out their vision and values for a shared future. There are 40 young people from the North and 40 from the South, and there is balance in terms of gender, ethnicity, community, faith and other identity diversities. The forum focuses on five themes of sustainability, opportunity, well-being, equality and cultural identity. There have been five meetings so far, both North and South, and the next meeting will be on Friday in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The forum is organised by the shared island unit in partnership with the National Youth Council of Ireland and Youth Action Northern Ireland. When I had a chance to meet with the forum members, they certainly shared with me their various views on the particular political impasse occurring in the North but we have not made it a focus of the forum really because we want them to think long term rather than about the current political difficulties.

Deputy Smith spoke about the geopark, which I had a chance to visit as Minister for tourism a long time ago. It is really great to see that develop. It will be a fabulous asset and amenity. Indeed, it already is.

I agree with Deputy Smith's comments on PEACEPLUS and its predecessor programmes and the billions of euro that have been invested in Northern Ireland and the Border counties. The Deputy encouraged us to reach out to the hard-to-reach groups, areas and communities. I totally agree with that. It can be difficult to do this with any government funding scheme, be it sports capital or a community scheme, not just in Northern Ireland and the Border areas. Better organised, better equipped and better skilled volunteer groups find it easier to apply for money and then find it easier to draw it down. That does not make it okay. It actually puts an additional obligation on us, as the people in office, and on our civil servants and assistants to reach out to those communities that may not have the skills or stability, or who struggle with the governance issues, to make sure that money goes to where it is needed most. This, of course, is easier said than done.

On the issue of eBay and the potential redundancies there, I have not had any personal contact with the company. That relationship would be managed by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and by IDA Ireland. If they have not been in contact, I am sure they will. Obviously we need to make sure that any redundancies are minimised, that they are voluntary rather than compulsory if possible, and that a package is put in place for any staff who lose their jobs.

With regard to the situation in Northern Ireland, we have ongoing engagement with the five major political parties in the North. Certainly when it comes to the issue of the Executive and the Assembly being re-established, the DUP would strongly believe it is very much a strand 1 issue in which the Irish Government has no role. We respect that view even if we do not agree with it. It is the establishment of the Executive and the Assembly that will allow the North-South ministerial bodies to function. Strand 2 is dependent on strand 1 operating.

We are very keen to be of assistance in any way we can. If the assembly and the Executive are re-established we want to make sure they are successful and sustainable. This is why we are willing to help in any way that we can.

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