Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like more information on the EU's decision to downgrade the BMW region from developed to a region in transition. When was the Department informed of that decision and what will be the consequences of that decision? The Minister outlined the various funds to which the Department has access. There are proposals in the European Commission to reduce some of those funds. For example, cohesion funding could potentially be cut by 13%, while there is a €1 billion cut on the table for the CAP, which funds LEADER, particularly in the context of Brexit and the departure of the UK. What role is the Department playing to protect those funds and defend rural and urban communities from bearing the brunt of cuts to those funds? What role is the Government playing in the negotiations on the new multi-annual financial framework to ensure that communities, rural and urban, will not take the brunt of these cuts?

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