Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I thank the Tánaiste for her response and for coming to the House to respond to the debate. The key matter to be learned is that there needs to be flexibility in everything we do. We need a can-do approach rather than highlighting the barriers preventing us from doing things. We must have no repeat of the failings that occurred elsewhere. Regarding the delays, I believe the average for such fund applications across the EU is approximately eight months and as this has now taken 13 months, it is well overdue. The Tánaiste referred to some aspects of that delay. Given the need for speed on these matters it is unsatisfactory that we are taking four or five months longer than the EU average.