I am delighted to welcome you to this 10th Anniversary website. Since the establishment of the Border, Midland and Western (BMW) Regional Assembly in 1999, Ireland has experienced both an extended period of economic prosperity and more recently an economic downturn. Up until the end of 1999 Ireland was treated as a single Objective 1 region by the European Union when administering EU Structural Funds. In order to retain Objective 1 status in the lagging BMW Region and maintain receipt of higher levels of Structural Funds it was decided to divide the country into two separate regions. This led to the establishment of the two Regional Assemblies, i.e., the BMW Region and the Southern and Eastern Region.

 

 

We have taken the opportunity to review the many developments and milestones that have been achieved since the establishment of the Regional Assemblies in 1999. The establishment of the two Regional Assemblies was new and innovative in the Irish administrative context and it brought a greater focus to regional issues in Ireland. The Regional Assemblies have played a central role in ensuring the effective management, monitoring and financial control of EU co-financed programmes, which have greatly enhanced the development potential of all regions in Ireland. The Assembly organisation has built up considerable expertise in EU programme management and also provides a constructive regional input into national and sectoral policy reviews.