Cllr. Andrew Boylan Elected New Chairperson of the BMW Regional Assembly

Councillor Andrew Boylan from Derrygarra, Butlersbridge, Co Cavan has been elected as the 11th Chairperson of the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) Regional Assembly at their AGM held on Friday 24th July, 2009 in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon.

Cllr Boylan was first elected to Cavan County Council in 1974 for the Cavan electoral area and since then he has represented this locality in a range of political forums. Most notably Cllr Boylan served as a T.D. for the Cavan-Monaghan area between 1987 and 2002. As a locally elected representative he performed the duties of Chairperson of Cavan County Council for two terms. He has been a member of the BMW Regional Assembly since its inception in 1999 and as well as serving on the Border Regional Authority.

In accepting the position, Cllr Boylan said that he was both honoured and privileged to be elected Chairperson of the Regional Assembly. In his opening address Cllr Boylan welcomed new members to their first meeting of the Regional Assembly following the outcome of the local elections. He emphasised the important role that the Assembly has played in the development of the BMW Region over the past decade particularly in relation to the inflow of EU funding to the Region. He informed the Assembly that one of his priorities of his term will be to place the Assembly to the forefront of the debate on European issues and in particular to play an important role in the forthcoming discussions on the Lisbon Agenda Referendum. He also expressed concern about the recent announcement which will see the cancellation of REPS 4 (Rural Environment Protection Scheme), a scheme which financially rewards farmers who carry out their work in an environmentally friendly manner. He stated that this represented an important form of income for many farmers in the BMW Region and called on the Government to re-examine this decision with a view to reintroducing the scheme as soon as possible.

Mr. Gerry Finn, Director of the BMW Regional Assembly, congratulated Cllr Boylan on his appointment and stated that he looked forward to working with him over the coming year. He also paid tribute to the outgoing Chairperson, Cllr Tom Crosby from Tarmonbarry, County Roscommon for the effective way in which he discharged his duties over his term as Chairperson.

In his closing address, outgoing Chairperson Cllr Tom Crosby outlined a number of important activities that took place during his term in office, in particular he welcomed the emerging opportunities for North-South co-operation which have been advanced by the historic first official meeting between a delegation from the BMW Regional Assembly and the Northern Ireland executive in September 2008. He concluded by thanking the members of the Assembly and the executive staff for their cooperation over the past year.

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