Members of European Parliament committee visiting Midlands on fact-finding trip

A group of European Parliament members who sit on its Committee on Regional Development (REGI) will pay visits to Athlone and Offaly this week as part of a fact-finding trip exploring the uses of EU funding.

The delegation is being led by REGI committee vice-chair, Slovakia's Ľubica Karvašová.

It will also include Spain's Raul De La Hoz Quintano, Portugal's Paulo Do Nascimento Cabral, and Irish MEPs Ciaran Mullooly, Maria Walsh, and Barry Cowen.

The group's visit is taking place from today (Monday) until Wednesday, and the itinerary includes a stop tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Atlantic Technological University's Mountbellew site, which has benefited from European Regional Development Fund funding.

This is to be followed by a visit to Athlone tomorrow evening, which will include a "working dinner" in the Hodson Bay Hotel.

The visit is due to conclude in Offaly on Wednesday with a visit to bogland followed by a press conference in St Joseph’s Community Centre, Kilcormac.

MEP Maria Walsh said that, during the group's meetings in the west and the Midlands, "we will be discussing EU funding, infrastructure needs, urban regeneration, rehabilitation of peatlands, the Just Transition, rural regeneration, research and development.

"So it's a jam-packed few days ahead for my colleagues and I," she added

Ahead of the visit, REGI committe vice-chair Ľubica Karvašová 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," she concluded.