North West delegation make impact in Europe

Strabane Sinn Fein Councillor Jarlath Mc Nulty says that he is confident that the in-depth engagements undertaken by a 25 strong delegation, make up of representatives of 5 Chambers of Commerce and party representatives from the north west, with decision makers at the highest levels within the European Parliament in Brussels last week will bear fruit for not only Strabane but the north west as a whole.

Cllr Mc Nulty said,
“This was an important trip. We brought together the Chambers of Commerce from Strabane, Buncrana, Letterkenny, Gaoth Dobhair, and Derry along with Sinn Féin representatives from throughout the North West region. We met with senior members of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Irish Regions Office and the Northern Executive, as well as the European Chamber of Commerce. During these engagements regional development in the North West, the PEACE III and IFI funds and the new proposed European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation were addressed.

“The Border Corridor area has clearly suffered most from partition and is characterised by:

• High unemployment • Poor educational facilities and low educational attainment • Rural isolation • Inadequate health systems • Poor communications, high energy costs and weak transport infrastructure • The Border Corridor Area is the poorest region in Ireland. • The North West is the poorest area of the poorest region.

“Sinn Féin is about putting together an integrated approach to tackling this deprivation and under investment. During our meetings today we sought support for:

• a North West Regional Economic Development Strategy • a North West Regional Economic Authority

“We also sought EU funding for a proposal which is at an advanced stage for a North West Medical School which will involve co-operation between NUI in Galway, Magee in Derry and the IT colleges in Sligo and Letterkenny.

“This has been a positive trip and much good work has been accomplished. Clearly the coming together of the five Chambers to lobby for common goals is important and the significance of this was not lost on those we met over the past 24 hours.

“Sinn Féin will seek to build upon the work completed during this trip and bring to a conclusion the projects which we have sought support for here in Brussels. This is clearly still work in progress and work which we will continue in the time ahead.”