Kilkenny MEP: South-East risks being over-looked under Brussels’ new budget plans

Sinn Féin MEP for Ireland South, Kathleen Funchion, has warned that the South-East of Ireland risks being left ‘short-changed’ under new EU budget proposals.

Speaking at a major hearing on the Future of Cohesion Policy in Brussels, MEP Funchion said the region needs special consideration and that the plans to shift EU funding decisions to the national level could further disadvantage areas like the South-East.

“In the South-East, we have zero air transport, dwindling port infrastructure, slow trains, and dangerous road connections,” MEP Funchion said. “Yet we are the part of the island closest to the single market, which is still hundreds of kilometres away post-Brexit. All these issues require urgent investment.

“The current proposal from the EU Commission will see EU funds allocated increasingly at national level, leaving the South-East at risk of losing out in an even greater way. The European Commission 2025 Country Report for Ireland is clear. It shows that the south-east region has the lowest regional economic growth since 2013.

Ms Funchion said she was deeply concerned that under the Commission’s current direction, the region will be overlooked and that it will miss out on funding.

“We don’t yet know whether the National Plan model will come to pass, but the message I want to send today is that regions are not all the same,” she said. “Areas like the south-east need special attention and special plans backed up by real funding.”