The Irish Delegation was prominent in the business of the 47th Congress of the Local & Regional Authorities which took place in Strasbourg earlier this month. Inspired by Delegation Head, Cllr Jimmy Moloney, the team comprising Cllrs Gobnait Moynihan, John Crowe and Ann Colgan, supported by delegation secretary, Liam Kenny, ensured that an Irish voice was heard in key debates and in important committee meetings. Cllr Moloney has himself been appointed rapporteur for developing a policy document on alternative ways to deliver housing supply while Cllr Moynihan presented a report on local democracy in Latvia following a visit to the Baltic country.
The delegation attended analytical presentations on local government on Finland, Iceland and Malta which provided an opportunity to compare and contrast ways of working with the Irish situation. The latter was referenced in the Congress Monitoring Committee meeting attended by Cllrs Crowe and Moynihan in the context of a follow-up mission by a CLRAE monitoring team to Ireland in November.
The most pressing item on the agenda for the Session was the continuing Russian aggression in the Ukraine and the delegates present from local government communities in 45 member states of Europe reiterated their support for their Ukrainian colleagues – some of whom were able to make it to Strasbourg – in sustaining their localities in the face of wartime privation.
On a happier note, the Congress celebrated the 10th anniversary of its young people’s engagement programme. Over the past ten years young people from throughout the continent have converged in parallel with the senior Congress to gain an insight into the workings of democracy at the European level. Across this programme Ireland has been represented by a series of articulate and engaged young people who quickly established popularity among their international peers. This year’s Irish youth delegate was no exception with Mr Jack O’Connor of Limerick recognised as making an outstanding contribution to the youth programme across the Congress week.
An important aspect of the Irish delegation’s twice-yearly visit to Strasbourg is to engage with Irish people who hold prominent roles in the Council of Europe leadership. It was therefore gratifying to meet with Mr Michael O’Flaherty, recently appointed to the key Commissioner for Human Rights role in the Congress. Mr O’Flaherty has a strong awareness of local government – an antecedent having been Mayor of Galway in times past.
The Irish delegation continued its positive engagement with Irish Ambassador Ms Caitriona Doyle who hosted a reception for the delegation which was attended by councillor colleagues from the UK, Netherlands, and Malta. This event provided a welcome opportunity to meet with Irish Army personnel stationed with the Eurocorps military formation in Strasbourg led by Col Bob Hurley, a native of Kinsale. In a short speech Irish Delegation head, Cllr Jimmy Moloney, made specific reference to the regard which the Irish public held for Col Hurley’s Army colleagues then experiencing a period of high tension in their fraught role as peacekeepers in south Lebanon.
