MEP visits Breifne College

Fine Gael MEP for the Midlands Northwest Constituency, Maria Walsh, was in Breifne College on Friday to speak with young people about their concerns and help them to better understand how the EU is working to improve their lives.

The rural hub group invited Ms Walsh to the school because one of its flagship events is being funded by the European Erasmus Project.

The EU's flagship education and training programme enables 250,000 students to study and work abroad each year.

Meanwhile, Ms Walsh spoke to The Anglo-Celt afterwards and began by highlighting the importance of her positions on the Agriculture Committee and Regional Development Committee - both of which she considers to be “very important committees for the Midlands Northwest Constituency”.

“We are now also entering into a new EU Commission and I will be working with Commissioners in relation to how they are reforming and designing our EU funding model,” she continued before adding that, while a county like Cavan may not have had access to the Brexit Adjustment Fund, the county benefits from other funding such as Horizon, Erasmus and CAP.

“I am working with my colleagues at a national level and with Minister Heather Humphreys, who really is doing a phenomenal job at drawing down EU and national funding to deliver projects in smaller developed communities.

“Of course, more is always needed and so, from my side, we are working to make sure that applying for funding is made easier; that community groups, councillors and schools are aware of what funding is available for them; and making sure we as MEPs are doing our best to make that happen. If there is money to spend or to apply for, then we need to be drawing it down,” said MEP Walsh.

She says that, while she learned many things while out canvassing for the EU Elections back in June, one that is foremost in her mind is the difficulties communities face trying to secure EU funding from “bureaucratic red tape and the administrative burden that’s involved”.

“If there is access to funding, then we need to be able to draw it down,” she insisted.

“Right now in the EU Parliament, we are debating and discussing the Cohesion Policy - that is the future EU and what that vision looks like with a focus on issues like climate disaster: from flooding in Poland and eastern Europe to wildfires in Greece, etc, and the funding from that policy is going to emergency responses.

“While some is needed, it’s not all of benefit and, if you look at the likes of Brexit, and its impact on places like right here in the Border counties, and indeed throughout the island of Ireland, the Brexit Adjustment Fund was there but Ireland didn’t tap into that nearly as much as we should have.

“What me and my team are doing is making sure that as much of the administration burden [associated with these funds] is lifted as much as it can be.”

When asked about her colleague Luke ‘Ming’ Flannagan’s comments in the run up to the EU Elections where he consistently claimed that Ms Walsh didn’t attend meetings despite being a member of the Agriculture Committee, she said his behaviour towards her was “disappointing”.

“There are 20 committees in the EU Parliament; I have officially sat on the Employment Committee, Justice Committee, Fisheries Committee and I covered - as a West of Ireland representative - anything agricultural based that came out,” she said.

“I attended an agriculture committee meeting and actually I was a co-chair of one meeting in particular because we did a hearing with employment and agriculture on farmers’ mental health and what supports the EU needs to put in place.

“It’s disappointing when a colleague says those things but I can tell you this: I am on the Agriculture Committee, Regional Development Committee and the Justice Committee, and I am working as hard as ever to deliver the best of the best for our farmers, those in the agri-tech business, agri-tourism and our rural communities.”

Meanwhile, tourism figures are down this year in Ireland and across the constituency in which Ms Walsh is based. There are numerous factors including impact from the lack of housing supply nationally.

“From a European context I voted in favor of the Migration Asylum Pact. When we look at the movement of people, we must ensure that we have a fit for purpose European-wide response; there needs to be a mechanism that works, is fair, supportive of people who are in need, and is just.

“Over the next two years, Member States will build the pact out - particularly in this country - and that is why I have chosen to sit on the Justice Committee this term because I want to make sure that this moves at the speed to which we agreed prior to this new mandate.”

In relaton to the housing issue, MEP Walsh said that access to housing is a domestic/national competency.

“I think that when you look at rooms and access to houses, the need is there for more supply. This Government is working to deliver that and, from my side, it’s about making the legislation that’s needed as quickly as possible.”

During her previous five-year term in the EU Parliament, MEP Walsh became a leading advocate on mental health. This remains one of primary focuses as she moves into her new term in office.

“At an EU level and prior to the Covd-19 pandemic, 83M people were experiencing mental health challenges and we know that has accelerated since then,” she said.

“It’s a stark statistic really when the second leading cause of death in the EU right now is suicide in young people. We need an urgent EU-wide response and in the Parliament we are working to set up an inter-group where all members can work specifically on mental health and I will be leading that out,” added MEP Walsh.

She's calling on Minister Paschal Donoghue to increase the money that is spent on mental health services to 10-12% as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO). “We haven't seen that yet but that doesn't mean that the work stops because we have to consistently challenge on behalf of citizens who can’t.

“It’s a silent epidemic and young people are screaming for help so we need to find, not just funding, but also a way to talk about the careers that we need in the area. We must ensure that we are not living in the reactive stage of mental health challenges but rather to be in a pro-active state where the most amount of people get support. There is a lot that can be done if we work together in a strategic way.”

And, on the possibility of a November General Election, the local MEP added: “I get asked all the time if I’m running in the General Election and I can say that I am not; I am very focused on my own arena, which is the EU and bettering our access there. I don’t have a date for the election either and I don’t even think the Taoiseach has that. I do think though that he is committed to seeing out the end of this Government’s mandate so I guess we’ll see what happens next.”