Local councillor given honour of opening Strasbourg CLRAE congress

Two Meath councillors were among the four-strong Irish delegation to the 19th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) last month. Meath County Councillor William Carey, Enfield, and Trim Town Councillor Vincent McHugh travelled to Strasbourg on 25th October for the congress. Two delegates representing town councils and two delegates representing county councils form the Irish delegation, as well as four substitute delegates, and they are elected for a two-year-term. Cllr McHugh was selected by the Association of Municpal Authorities of Ireland (AMAI), of which he is an executive member, while Cllr Carey was selected by the Association of County and City Councils (ACCC). CLRAE is a consultative body of the Council of Europe. The congress itself is a political assembly consisting of elected members from all 47 states of the council, representing over 800m citizens. Cllr Carey was appointed leader of the Irish delegation and was also given the honour of opening the session as the oldest member present. “It was a great thing for the Ireland delegation and, indeed, for the Irish ambassador who was present, as were several other ambassadors when the European Anthem was played,†he said. Cllr Carey presided over the election of the the new president, which was strongly contested. The successfull candidate was Keith Whitmore from the UK. Cllr Carey was elected vice-president of the Chamber of the Regions and is a member of the Bureau. He said it is the first time in many years that there is an Irish representation on the Bureau. He said they also managed to get their delegation placed on the committees to the best advantage. Cllr McHugh was selected for the monitoring committee. Cllr Carey opened the first session of the Chamber of the Regions. “I also chaired a session on the Landscape Convention and we passed a draft resolution giving more protection to areas of national and European importance. I found this very interesting as we are having problems in Meath at present in the Tara-Skryne area. The following day, the Enfield councillor chaired a debate on the Cultural Integration of Muslim Women in European Cities.