Ms Mary Freehill:

We will see how we go. On behalf of the Irish delegation of the European Committee of the Regions, I thank the Chairman for inviting us to make a presentation which follows up on submissions made by our members last year on the national reform programme and the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy. We wish to record our appreciation for the interest that the Chairman and his committee have taken in our activities.

I shall update the committee on some developments at regional level. The new terms for the Committee of the Regions came into effect in January last and our mandate continues for five years. The nine full members and nine alternate members, nominated by the Government, reflect the wide spectrum of councillors elected across the country last May.

Last January, the three new regional assemblies came into being. The assemblies are based in the following areas: Ballymun for the eastern and midlands region; Ballaghaderreen for the northern and western region; and Waterford for the southern region. Three regional assemblies replaced the eight regional authorities and the two regional assemblies. However, somewhat confusingly for cohesion policy purposes, the old NUTS II and NUTS III classifications remain in place until at least 2016, with the country remaining divided in two for European Regional Development Fund, ERDF, operational programmes in the Border, midlands and west region and the south and east region, as was the case in the past. This will run until 2020.

My three colleagues have already been introduced.

Our presentation will touch on the Committee of the Regions, COR,European perspective, differing challenges faced by our regions across Ireland and the newer roles and structures of local and regional government relevant to achieving the European 2020 targets. The COR has long prioritised implementation of the European 2020 strategy, with particular focus on emphasising the need to recognise and address issues at sub-national level and underlining the importance of partnership and multilevel governance.

Since 2011, the COR has been monitoring the involvement of local and regional authorities and their representative bodies in the preparation and implementation of the national reform plans across Europe. Generally, it has been found that multilevel governance arrangements are being increasingly adopted in many EU countries to implement Europe 2020. Naturally, these arrangements differ according to how powers are allocated in each country according to the various policy fields. Over the years, across the EU, there is an increasing trend towards regionally differentiated approaches, along with a greater role for local and regional authorities in implementing the Europe 2020 strategy through the national reform programmes. Last year, for example, the national reform programme in 24 states mentioned the active role of local and regional authorities in implementation, with use of Structural Funds in particular being key to achieving the Europe 2020 targets.

The COR has also found that the disparities between and within countries as measured by gross domestic product and levels of employment are increasingly due to the impact of the economic crisis and pre-existing gaps. Whereas neither 2014 country-specific recommendations nor the countries report of 2015 make specific reference to regional disparities in the Irish context, there is a need to take account of the varying challenges facing regions.

I will briefly touch on the potential of the European Fund for Strategic Investment, also known as the Juncker plan, which has ambitions to invest €315 billion in productive infrastructure based on seed capital of €21 billion in EU money. When the Minister was here, the Chairman asked if there is buy-in from the regions and that query was not answered. I emphasise that it is important that all stakeholders in Ireland, including the local government sector, are fully informed of the fund details once they are finalised and that our authorities have an opportunity to benefit from participation.

Following lengthy planning in February, the two regional operational programmes to implement the European Regional Development Fund element of the European structural and investment funds were formally signed. These will see investment of approximately €820 million in Ireland up to 2020, with 50% provided by Brussels. This underlines the continuing importance of EU regional policy to Irish regions. These regional operational programmes, ROPs, are the EU's principal investment tool for delivering Europe 2020 goals and a focus on investment, research and development, information and communications technology, competitiveness of small and medium enterprises and a shift to a low carbon economy. There will also be significant sustainable urban investment in designated gateway towns. Given these investment priorities and their scale, we would like to see consistency and co-ordination between these Structural Funds and any investments to be developed in Ireland under the Juncker plan. It is crucial that the new fund be used to address regional disparities and facilitate synergies for further investment across the regions.

I thank the Chairman. Mr. Richmond will now highlight regional imbalances and challenges.