MEP says EU must help Offaly and the Midlands address the challenges facing the region

MEP Billy Kelleher examines how EU membership has transformed Irish society in the past half century

IRELAND'S 50 years of membership of the European Union has been transformative for our country and our people. It has changed us from a socially conservative, mainly agrarian economy to a progressive, open dynamic tech, pharmaceutical and agri-business hub.

In many respects, despite the many challenges we face in areas such as housing, we are the poster boys  for European Union membership. Our friends and colleagues in Eastern Europe - countries that only joined our Union in the noughties, want to emulate our successes.

EU membership gave us an economic freedom that was never dreamed possible when we gained our political independence in the 1920s. Access for our businesses to sell into the Single Market, CAP support for our farmers, regional development and cohesion funding to build stronger communities all helped build the Ireland of today.

Despite all the positives, Europe and Ireland are facing many challenges. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, a cost of living crisis, an energy crisis, the long-term effects of the Covid pandemic, and the challenge of meeting our climate targets to stop our planet burning up, it’s essential that the European Parliament and its MEPs offer honest, constructive solutions.

For Offaly and the Midlands region in general, there are a number of challenges that the EU can and must help the local communities address. The need to decarbonise our economy is a challenge for all communities, but the Midlands faces additional burdens.

The move away from the burning of peat, and the associated job losses that it will entail, will hit Offaly hard. The Just Transition is a good plan. There’s no one questioning that. However, the problem is that it is simply taking too long for families and communities to feel its benefits.

However, Europe and Ireland are facing these crises together - more united than ever before. I firmly believe that it is this unity that will ensure that we can overcome them. As an MEP representing Offaly, and the wider Ireland South constituency of Munster and South Leinster, I am passionate about proposing reasonable and realistic solutions, rather than throwing out glib, soundbites.

In my work in the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Taxation committees, I am actively seeking to secure flexibility for Irish banks to be able to lower its interest rates for businesses and mortgage holders. In the new Public Health sub-committee, my work is focusing on putting in place the systems needed to build a truly European Health Union. For example, we must end the European postcode lottery in terms of new-born babies accessing the right number of tests for rare diseases.

In 2021 and 2022, I was very active on the Animal Transport investigatory committee. It’s essential that two things happen - the transportation of animals takes place with the highest possible welfare standards, and that Irish farmers maintain their ability to transport animals off the island and into the Single Market. Later this year, we will see a new proposal from the European Commission. The right balance must be found.

Earlier this month, I was elected as Vice Chair of the Parliament’s Delegation with the United States. Ireland is the bridge between Europe and the US. We gain massively from this position, and I will, during my term, work to support job creation and innovation  .

Connecting with constituents can be hard as an MEP. Ireland South is 12 of the Republic’s 26 counties, with just over 2 million people living there. So if your organisation, school, business or community group wants to engage with or meet with me on any issue, please do not hesitate to get in touch with through my email:  constituency@billykelleher.ie