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Cllr Kevin O’Keeffe speaking in Brussles on Tuesday.

Local councillor signs €498.2m ERDF agreement in Brussels

Cork county councillor Kevin O'Keeffe, of the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly, met European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu in Brussels on Tuesday to sign the €498.2m European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) agreement for the Southern and Eastern region of Ireland. They were joined by Minister Brendan Howlin TD at the ceremony to mark the adoption of the ERDFs for Ireland for 2014-2020.

Welcoming the signing of the programme, Commissioner Creţu said: "We need to empower citizens with the skills and knowledge they need to set up small companies; we need to facilitate the access of these businesses to financial support, and most importantly, we need to enable them to create jobs. Today's investment programmes set all Irish regions on this path."

Echoing this sentiment, Cllr O'Keeffe added: "The signing of this Operational Programme allows my region to continue to invest heavily in research& development and innovation, including next generation broadband rollout."

The programme is expected to create 17,000 new jobs in small companies by targeting specific sectors including digital, food and energy, as well as expanding high-speed broadband services targeting 164,300 households. It will also improve energy efficiency in housing, revitalise urban areas and increase links between SMEs and research centres, thereby improving commercialisation for Irish SMEs.

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