Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

Some time ago, I called on the Leader to arrange a debate on the Irish diaspora and funding for Irish diaspora services. I am concerned because such a debate has not been held yet. I refer to how this is impacting locally. Recently, I heard at least one third of Irish sexual abuse survivors are now living in the UK. The services they receive have been impacted because of the lack of a decision by the Government in respect of ongoing funding. They were expecting to hear about funding for this year in early January. It is now the middle of the year and they have only been given interim funding for a few months. This is putting their position in jeopardy in terms of recruitment of staff and the commissioning of services for these especially vulnerable people. I call on the Leader to arrange that debate and, as soon as possible, to impress upon the Minister the need to come to a conclusion in respect of that review and to ensure funding is put in place for these services.