Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As this is my first time to address the House I would like to extend my congratulations to the Cathaoirleach on his election and to Senator Buttimer on his selection as Leader. I would also like to join other Senators in expressing my sincere sympathy to the victims of the recent tragedies in Orlando and Paris.

Senator Leyden raised the very timely and important issue of the upcoming referendum in the United Kingdom on its continuing membership of the European Union. This is vitally important and I echo the Senator's call for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, or the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Murphy, to come into the House to take statements on the issue, although I know they are both travelling today. It is my strongly held view that membership of the EU has been a wholly positive experience for the people of the United Kingdom, Ireland and all other member states.

I hosted a briefing this morning on opportunities for young graduates within the EU. A huge amount of EU funding is available for groups all over the country. However, the Erasmus+ programme is only receiving half of the amount of applications that it should due to the difficulty of the application process which is implemented by Léargas and other bodies. In that context, I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to the House to take statements on the process of applying for Erasmus+ funding and to resolve the issues involved so that more groups in Ireland can avail of this much-needed funding.