Fianna Fáil TD for Sligo-Leitrim Marc Mac Sharry is calling for an investment vehicle to be established to ensure EU funding of approx. €350m from the EU Cohesion Fund 2021-2027 is invested where required in the North West.
The call made by Deputy Mac Sharry concurs with the Northern & Western Regional Assembly who launched their ‘Let’s Be More’ campaign on this matter on Monday.
Deputy Mac Sharry commented, “Our region in the North West has been downgraded by the European Commission to a ‘Region In Transition’. A hard Brexit is increasingly likely and is already a fact of life in the Northwest. With tourism and the hospitality sector totally wiped out by COVID-19 related restrictions our legacy neglect issues are even more pronounced.
“It is clear we need continued investment in the region, as is forthcoming, but we need localised decision making in terms of this investment. A centralised approach to these funds will be superficial and not have the required impact.
“The current model of financing is too restrictive. The Government need to allow an Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) vehicle to give more local control with regard to what projects are invested in. This model has worked well elsewhere. In Cornwall such a mechanism has been used to the benefit of the wider region and can be a model we should follow.
“COVID-19 has had a damaging economic impact on our region. The Government must prevent against a two-tier economy over the next number of years as we come out of the pandemic.
“Integrated Territorial Investment will bring far greater benefit to our region through focused investment. This is something the Government must consider as these funds are issued from Europe,” concluded Deputy Mac Sharry.
