Martina Anderson
Sinn Féin MEP and EU election candidate Martina Anderson has outlined her continuing key priorities if re-elected on 22 May.
Since she replaced party colleague Bairbre de Brun as MEP in May 2012, Ms Anderson pointed out she has hosted groups, individuals and representatives from farming and fishing communities, sports and community organisations, SMEs (small, medium enterprises), Chambers of Commerce; representatives of victims of State killings and collusion, cultural enthusiasts, cancer campaign groups and environmentalists with many of the delegations having all-Ireland representation.
During these delegation visits to Brussels and Strasbourg, she facilitated meetings with the relevant EU officials and accommodated meetings aimed at building contacts and identifying funding opportunities for the different sectors.
As part of the outreach, she also convened information meetings at venues throughout the North, including Strabane, to empower groups at a local community level to be able to access what assistance is available at EU level.
She said as the only candidate standing in this six county EU Electoral Area hailing from west of the Bann and the North West, identifying projects and EU programmes that will redress the historical neglect and lack of investment in this region has been and would continue to be her “overriding priority.”
She added: “By returning me, as part of a strong Sinn Féin MEP team representative of every corner of Ireland, will add momentum to our agenda for change.
“An all-Ireland team of MEPs will give us endless opportunities to make the border economically irrelevant as it should be and enable greater scrutiny of EU programmes to identify where we can access funding on an all-Ireland basis and in such a way that we can serve the peoples of Ireland more efficiently.
“As part of the GUE/NGL Group – the main opposition to the austerity agenda of right wing parties in the European Parliament we will forge strong alliances with other like-minded parties to ensure that we deliver for those most in need while simultaneously identifying job creation programmes that we can access.
“Of course there is much work to be done in Europe and at home that will progress that strategy. From identifying job creation and cross border projects that will tackle the negative impact of partition by maximising the European funding opportunities that will change the patterns of disadvantage that has emerged as a result – to assisting SMEs access financing opportunities, to providing information on procurement opportunities to local manufacturers and service providers thereby supporting businesses and employment here.”
She concluded: “But it’s not all just about Team Sinn Féin it’s also about Team Ireland where we build working relationships with other Irish MEPs to ensure that a common approach is adopted to ensure maximum delivery in areas such as Agriculture, Fisheries and infrastructural funding. It’s about Putting Ireland First.”
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