MEPs visit the West and the Midlands of Ireland, 24-26 February 2025

Regional Development Committee MEPs will travel to County Galway and the Midland region of Ireland to learn about the use of cohesion funds with local stakeholders.

During their visit from 24 to 26 February, members will visit Galway Port - part of the TEN-T network - to learn about the port’s future development plans and their impact on the city of Galway and the wider region. Next, MEPs will visit Athenry to discuss the possibility of using EU funding to reopen a former railway line as part of the Western Rail Corridor, and liaise with academics at the Atlantic Technological University Mountbellew, which has benefitted from ERDF funding. On the last day, they will head to Kilcormac, where they will also learn more about the use of the Just Transition Fund on-the-ground in county Offaly and the wider Midlands.

The visit will conclude with a press conference on Wednesday 26 February, 12:00 GMT at St. Joseph’s Community Centre, Kilcormac, Co. Offaly. The event will be for in-person attendance only.  Interested journalists can contact jack.moloney@ep.europa.eu

The delegation will be led by REGI Vice-Chair Ms Ľubica Karvašová (Renew, Slovakia). Ahead of the visit, she said:

"I have the honour of chairing the first REGI committee mission of this term, taking place in the North West and Midlands of Ireland. This mission comes at a crucial time when political discussions on the future of cohesion policy are underway. It will therefore be a great opportunity to visit projects funded by the EU’s cohesion policy and related programmes in several Irish counties and meet with local authorities and other stakeholders to understand their vision for the economic and social development of their region."

Participants
In addition to Ms Karvašová, the following MEPs will participate:

Contact:
Jack Moloney
Press Officer in Ireland
Tel. +353 1 605 7900
Mobile:  353 (0) 86 088 0902
email: jack.moloney@ep.europa.eu

Further information
Regional Development Committee
European Funding in Ireland (website of the Government of Ireland)