Labour MEP Phil Prendergast and Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly, have met Cork local development companies who travelled to Brussels to engage with European policy makers in relation to proposals for reforms of the local development sector.

Avondhu/Blackwater Partnership, South East Cork Area Development (SECAD) along with IRD Duhallow, and West Cork Development Partnership (WCDP) attended a briefing, hosted by the Irish Local Development Network, in the European Parliament on Tuesday, Janaury 8.

Speaking after the meeting, Ms Prendergast said she fully supports the efforts being made by Avondhu/Blackwater Partnership, (SECAD) and others ‘having visited many of these projects and having seen the great work being done by them on the ground’.

“My first priority is that the system going forward continues to ensure that local communities are able to take the lead in developing their own localities.”

Sean Kelly MEP stated that LEADER is part and parcel of local community activism and development in rural Ireland. Like the GAA, it is a strong network of local people helping their communities to develop and prosper.

“I strongly support the work of Local Development companies and it is my hope that provision can be made to support and promote this work further in the context of the ongoing reforms to local development in Ireland,” he concluded.