A cross-party group of Irish MEPs has issued a joint statement to the Government welcoming the GAA\u2019s work on demographic change and calling for coordinated national action to tackle rural depopulation.<\/p>\n
The letter is co-signed by Ciaran Mullooly, Luke \u201cMing\u201d Flanagan, Aod\u00e1n \u00d3 Riord\u00e1in, Michael McNamara, Kathleen Funchion and Lynn Boylan.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the initiative, Mr Mullooly said the MEPs were united in their determination to place rural communities at the centre of Ireland\u2019s demographic and regional policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Irish MEPs we\u2019re committed to working together to ensure that all communities are placed at the heart of Ireland\u2019s future demographic and regional policies,\u201d he said. \u201cDepopulation is not something we must simply accept. This is a challenge we can confront if Government, Parliament and the GAA pull in the same direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reforms<\/p>\n
The MEPs recommend a series of reforms, beginning with a comprehensive overhaul of how Irish legislation is assessed for its impact on rural communities.<\/p>\n
Mr Mullooly said: \u201cWe are recommending reform of structural policy. Government policy must go well beyond just funding and introduce whole-of-society rural proofing for all legislation to ensure that new policies actively support, rather than disadvantage, rural communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Housing and infrastructure reforms also feature strongly in the letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are suggesting the reform of housing policy to make rural settlement easier, allowing home building on family land and taking action to counter serial objectors,\u201d Mr Mullooly said. \u201cIf families cannot build in their own parish, then of course clubs and communities lose the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recommendations also address employment, remote work and economic balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to create incentives for local job growth, promote regional economic balance outside large urban areas and expand flexible work options so that people can live, work and play in rural Ireland,\u201d Mr Mullooly said.<\/p>\n
Fast-growing towns<\/p>\n
The MEPs highlight the pressure urbanisation has placed on sporting facilities and call for new pitches and amenities in fast-growing towns. They also strongly support the GAA\u2019s proposal for a Rural Development Officer in every county board.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think the GAA should appoint a Rural Development Officer on every county board to coordinate community projects and ensure GAA clubs are central to local development,\u201d Mr Mullooly said.<\/p>\n
He also emphasised the importance of deeper cooperation between the GAA, Government and the EU.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is room for more partnerships and engagement with organisations like the IFA and EU bodies such as the Committee of the Regions to access research, funding and shared expertise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Mullooly said a shift in tone is also needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m suggesting we move from a crisis tone to a solutions-focused message, highlighting the GAA\u2019s cultural importance and even exploring symbolic recognitions such as UNESCO heritage status,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mr Mullooly explained that the initiative follows a recent invitation from the GAA to speak to their demographic officers in Croke Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was asked to address demographic officers from all over the country at Croke Park a few months ago,\u201d he said. \u201cI suggested we needed a political initiative on this, and that the GAA itself has a key role to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also spoke personally about the reality of depopulation at club level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the way teams have been decimated. I\u2019ve seen clubs in County Longford go out of business and others forced to amalgamate.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m on your side on this, but we have to work together as a Government, as a Parliament and indeed as a GAA organisation to bring about improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n
GAA clubs<\/p>\n
Mr Mullooly said he intends to visit GAA clubs across the Midlands and Northwest in the months ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be speaking again about the policy decisions we need, but also about practical ways of retaining players in your club or even bringing players back from abroad to work in the parish and play once again for your club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to visiting clubs in the coming weeks to discuss this further.\u201d<\/p>\n
He concluded by stressing that this cross-party effort marks the beginning of a “sustained push for national action”.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is quite an ask of the GAA and the Government, but it is necessary. Rural Ireland can thrive again if we commit to the right reforms and put communities at the centre of national planning. Irish MEPs are united in keeping this issue high on the political agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A cross-party group of Irish MEPs has issued a joint statement to the Government welcoming the GAA\u2019s work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-175721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}