EU Budget and funding, and the importance of supporting community endeavour emphasised at MEP's visit to Celbridge

Issued : Monday 24 October, 2011

Celbridge Tidy Towns committee and Community and Enterprise Centre workers welcomed Nessa Childers MEP on a fact finding visit to Celbridge last Friday, 21 October.

 

Sean Darcy welcomed Nessa Childers MEP to the Mill Community and Enterprise Centre where she met John McLoughlin, Mairin Hyland, David Trost, Yolande Barrett, Stephen Johnston, Mairead Byrne, and Carmel Hughes. The group discussed the importance of funding local enterprise and community projects and toured the Youth Café, the Mill Turbine and stepped into Blindstyle to visit local entrepreneur John Hoverty.

 

Speaking to the group Nessa Childers said “It is really important to see at first-hand how local community enterprise contributes to the life of local towns and villages, particularly as the EU budget will be voted in the Parliament this month.  Some Member States want to reduce the amount of money paid to the EU, and I will argue that it is essential that we keep the EU budget strong to fund regional development and enterprise projects.  We cannot continue to drain money from local economies”.

 

Ms Childers told the gathering that it was well known that the EU funds agriculture, road and rail networks for example.  However the EU also provides crucial funding for projects in areas such as regional development, including local enterprise and community projects, and life-long learning.  All essential to create jobs and employment.

 

Nessa Childers also had a walk around the village with Celbridge Tidy Town’s chairman, Michael Connolly, and met Lorcan Burke of ‘Absolutely Fabulous Flowers’ winner of best shop-front award.  The group then joined the remaining Tidy Town’s committee in Kildrough House for an informal meet and greet hosted by June Stuart.  Nessa Childers said in her work in the European Parliament and as a local representative she hoped to “highlight the importance of community endeavour, and to give a sense of value to those who do so much on a voluntary basis and are often overlooked”.

 

During the visit to Celbridge, Nessa was accompanied by Emmet Stagg TD, Cllr. Colm Purcell and Cllr. Kevin Byrne.