Government appoints replacement Members to the EU Committee of the Regions

Europe

Published on Tuesday 5th July 2016

Government appoints replacement Members to the EU Committee of the Regions

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney TD announced today (5 July, 2016) that the Government has agreed to the nomination of three full members and four alternate members to the EU Committee of the Regions to fill vacancies which arose after the recent Dáil and Seanad elections.
These members, along with 11 existing members, will represent Ireland on the EU Committee of the Regions. Nominations are made by Member States to the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers), which then makes the formal appointments to the Committee of Regions. The Committee is composed of 350 full members and the same number of alternate members. It was established under the EU Treaties in 1994 to give elected members of local and regional authorities in EU Member States an opportunity to be consulted on any proposed EU legislation that may have implications at regional or local level.
The following are the newly nominated members:
Full Members:
Cllr. Michael Murphy (Fine Gael) (Head of Delegation) Tipperary County Council
Cllr. Deirdre Forde (Fine Gael) Cork County Council
Cllr. Gerry Murray (Sinn Féin) Mayo County Council
Alternate Members:
Cllr. Barry Ward (Fine Gael) Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council
Cllr. Irene Winters (Fine Gael) Wicklow County Council
Cllr. Eamon Dooley (Fianna Fáíl) Offaly County Council
Cllr. Dianne Nolan (Sinn Féin) Kerry County Council
The Government decision was made on a proposal from the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney TD following cross-party consultation. The Minister said “The Committee of the Regions is part of the EU’s legislative framework. In these uncertain times it is especially important for Ireland to maintain its full representation and actively contribute at all levels of EU legislative and policy formulation. I am pleased that the membership of Ireland’s local authorities and their communities will continue to have a voice and be strongly represented at European level”.

Note for Editors
There is no salary or allowance for members of the Committee of the Regions but they are entitled to claim for travel and subsistence expenses relating to their attendance at meetings.
Councillors Michael Murphy and Deirdre Forde were already alternate members of the Committee of Regions but will become full members following these nominations.
http://emra.ie/committee-of-the-regions/
http://cor.europa.eu/en/Pages/home.aspx