Written answer
EU Presidency
Ireland’s EU Presidency is bringing events and funding to Galway and other regions, including five official Galway events, ten associated events and community outreach initiatives.
83. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union is being used to showcase Galway and other regions outside Dublin; and the opportunities being provided for regional communities to participate in and benefit from Ireland’s Presidency. [67436/26]
Comment on this
Ireland assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July this year. The Presidency is an opportunity for Ireland to play an important role in leading and shaping the EU’s policy and legislative agenda, and the Government has made a firm commitment to deliver a successful Presidency.
In the Programme for Government, we committed to bringing some of the high-level meetings of our Presidency to cities and counties across Ireland, ensuring that the entire country benefits from the profile the Presidency brings.
Overall, we expect to host more than 270 Presidency events in Ireland, with approximately a quarter of these taking place regionally. To date, 95 meetings and events have been held in locations including Galway, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Donegal, Kildare, Kilkenny, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.
It is anticipated that five official Presidency events and meetings will take place in Galway over the course of the Presidency, facilitating discussions across a diverse range of policy areas, including environment, education and transport.
There are also ten Associated Presidency Events currently planned for Galway, organised by civil society, academia, business and representative bodies. Aligned with the themes and priorities of Ireland’s EU Presidency, these events promote and enable wider local participation in the Presidency.
Local Communities are at the heart of our Presidency outreach programme, which includes the county pairing initiative. The Irish Ambassador to Estonia, and the Estonian Ambassador to Ireland conducted a joint visit to Galway in July as part of this initiative. My Department has also allocated a total of €30,000 in funding to the Galway City and Galway County Councils, as well as the Galway Libraries, to support their programme of work around our EU Presidency and the EU more broadly this year as part of the Communicating Europe Initiative.