Ní Riada welcome’s Budget Committee’s Irish visit

Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ní Riada has thanked her fellow members of the EU Budgets Committee for their support in her efforts to bring the Committee to Ireland.

The Ireland South MEP said she was delighted to be able to announce that the visit would be happening in February after months of behind the scenes work.

“I am delighted to be able to finally make this public and am thankful to my colleagues on the Budget Committee for agreeing to make this happen,” she said.

“I have been working in the background for that last few months to secure this important visit and I can now look forward to welcoming this mission to Ireland in early 2018.

“The purpose of the mission will be to attend briefings in Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, meet Department officials and meet the all the committees concerned with European funding.

“We will be looking to meet beneficiaries of EU funding to discuss the impact that these resources have on them and we will visit EU financed projects to assess the quality of their implementation and effectiveness of EU support on the ground.

“We intend to also look at future EU financing, particularly in terms of the post 2020 Multiannual Financial Framework and discuss the present challenges that will inevitably impact on that.

“It will be imperative to maintain existing budget lines in the areas of CAP, CFP, European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020, EFSI, Youth employment initiative and Peace funding to name but a few”.

“I look forward to being part of this mission and bringing the EU Budgets Committee directly to those in Ireland who most need EU funding.”

MEP’s from the EU Budget Committee will visit Ireland from Monday 12th to Wednesday 14th February next year to assess co-operation and the performance of the relationship on an official level between Ireland and the European Union.