Chris MacManus MEP to hold rural decline Public Meeting in Longford
Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands Northwest, Chris MacManus, will host a public meeting on addressing regional imbalance and reversing rural decline in the Longford Arms Hotel on Thursday 7th March at 8pm. The meeting will also feature contributions from Sorca Clarke TD and local election candidates James Donnelly and Barry Campion. MacManus has encouraged the public to attend the meeting and to join the discussion on delivering change for rural Ireland.
MEP MacManus said:
“Delivering balanced regional development and standing up for rural Ireland has always been a key priority for Sinn Féin and I am delighted to be hosting this discussion on addressing rural decline in Longford.”
“Over the past number of decades rural parts of the country such as Longford have suffered from neglect and a lack of opportunities for those who live here, particularly for our young people.
“We need positive discrimination and political will to turn this around and revitalize the economy in rural Ireland. The only thing that will reverse this decline is major investment in infrastructure and public services. I have been calling for Cohesion funding, State Aid flexibility, the billion euro allocation of the RRF and the Brexit Fund to be used to offer a ready-made investment package to provide for this.
MacManus concluded, “There is no doubt that the current approach to regional development needs to change urgently in order to ensure that Counties such as Longford have a sustainable future. I would encourage people to attend our meeting on Thursday 7th March to join the discussion on how we can bring about change for our region.” ENDS
