A public meeting will take place in Co. Mayo tonight (Monday, May 15) to discuss regional imbalance and rural decline.
The event at the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris has been organised by Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands North-West, Chris MacManus.
Speakers at the event will include: Rose Conway-Walsh TD; Cllr. Gerry Murray; Irish Natura Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) president, Vincent Roddy; and former CEO of the Western Development Commission (WDC) and Ireland West Airport, Liam Scollan.
MacManus has encouraged the public to attend the meeting and to join the discussion on delivering change for the west of Ireland.
“Delivering balanced regional development and standing up for the west has always been a key priority for Sinn Féin and I am delighted to be hosting this discussion on addressing regional imbalance and reversing rural decline in Claremorris,” the MEP said.
“Over the past number of decades our region has suffered from neglect and a lack of opportunities for those of us who live here, particularly for our younger people.
“The EU’s downgrading of the northern and western region in recent years to being a lagging region and one ‘in transition’ highlights the urgency of addressing this problem.”
MacManus added that he believes the only thing that will reverse the decline is “major investment in infrastructure and public services”.
“I have been calling for cohesion funding, state aid flexibility, the billion euro allocation of the RRF [Recovery and Resilience Facility] and the Brexit fund [Brexit Adjustment Reserve] to be used to offer a ready-made investment package to provide for this,” he said.
“I have also been hosting high-level meetings with European Commissioners to highlight the particular issue here in the west.”
The MEP said that the current approach to regional development needs to change to ensure the west and northwest have a sustainable future.
The meeting gets underway at McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris at 8:00p.m.