Ireland's European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, the Lord Mayor of Cork City Kieran McCarthy and the Mayor of the County of Cork, Frank O’Flynn joined today an event that looked at what European co-operation means on the ground for Cork and discussed the future EU opportunities for the region and its people.
"EU for Cork: Unlocking Opportunities for Cork" was held at Cork City Hall and was organised by the European Commission Representation in Ireland with support from European Movement Ireland.
The discussion 'shone a light’ on some projects and activities where the EU and Cork are working successfully together towards their shared goal of sustainable economic development and looked at how to step up the co-operation in the future.
The forum was opened with welcome addresses by Councillor Kieran McCarthy, Lord Mayor of Cork City and Mayor of the County of Cork, Councillor Frank O’Flynn, while European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness delivered the key note address.
Noelle O’Connell, CEO of European Movement Ireland, moderated the panel discussion by David Kelly, Director of the Southern Regional Assembly, Donal Sheehan of the Biodiversity Regeneration in a Dairying Environment (BRIDE) Project and Dr Ruth Freeman, Director of Science for Society at Science Foundation Ireland, who shared their experience of using EU funding for their projects in Cork.
Commissioner Mairead McGuinness said:
“Today’s event provides an opportunity to showcase the EU’s support for sustainable economic growth in Cork and highlights where the EU and Cork are working successfully together towards shared goals across a variety of sectors. The significant investment of €164M from the NGEU/Recovery and Resilience Fund to support electrified rail services in Cork and the wonderful initiatives highlighted today, demonstrates the EU’s commitment to the development and advancement of Cork.”
Councillor Kieran McCarthy, Lord Mayor of Cork City said:
“In Cork, with our city set to grow very significantly over the coming years, we have big ambitions to achieve this sustainably and with an emphasis on quality of life. To do this, we are using numerous opportunities supported by EU initiatives to tap into best practice knowledge from across Europe and seeking to put that learning to practical use on the ground locally. This is especially important in terms of our designation as an innovation hub as part of the EU Climate-Neutral & Smart Cities Mission – something which will be transformative in shaping Cork’s future development. Our newest set of projects reflect this by addressing topics such as urban renaturing, positive energy districts, low-carbon transport infrastructure planning and sustainable local food systems amongst others.”
Mayor of the County of Cork, Councillor Frank O’Flynn said:
“Today we celebrate innovative initiatives such as the BRIDE Project, which has been able to unlock its potential thanks to EU funding. This investment also emphasises the potential of the green transition and its benefits to the county’s local economy.”
The BRIDE project, one of the highlighted inititives, based in the River Bride Catchment of north-east Cork and west Waterford, was established to conserve, and restore habitats in lowland intensive farmland. This is achieved with a range of measures including a payment scheme where farmers’ habitats are assessed and scored, and farmers with high quality habitats are given bigger payments.
Donal Sheehan of the BRIDE Project said:
“From restoring bogland to installing bird boxes in farm buildings, EU funding has enabled the BRIDE project to be innovative and explore new ways to preserve and restore lowland intensive farmland. We have developed an entirely new approach to the environmental management of farmland compared to the randomised process in previous agri-environmental schemes.”
Details
- Publication date
- 8 April 2024
- Author
- Representation in Ireland