Laois Sinn Féin councillor already a member of EU forum of local politicans

Laois Sinn Féin councillor Caroline Dwane Stanley is already listed as being a member of an EU assembly of select local representatives from across 28 member States. 

While it was reported on the Leinster Express / Laois Live and other media the Portlaoise politician had been nominated to the European Committee of the Regions, she is publicly listed as having been a member of Irish Delegation to the key forum since 2020.

The Committee's website lists Cllr Dwane Stanley as being on the elite Committee since January 26, 2020. She has served on the Committee's Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) and the Commission for the Environment, Climate change and Energy (ENVE).

Representatives of small parties group under bigger political groupings in the EU. The Sinn Féin councillor is listed as being part of The Greens group.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that she is also one of nine councillors have been nominated by Cabinet to a new five year term of full membership on the Committee of the Regions.

It said the nominations will be sent to the Council of the European Union which will then make the formal appointments to the Committee.

The list as outlined by the Department is:

• Cllr Michael Cahill, Longford (FF)
• Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy, Clare (FF)
• Cllr Gillian Coughlan, Cork County (FF)
• Cllr Emma Blain, Dublin City (FG)
• Cllr Jimmy McClearn, Galway County (FG)
• Cllr Eileen Lynch, Cork County (FG)
• Cllr Caroline Dwane-Stanley, Laois (SF)
• Cllr Dermot Lacey, Dublin City (LAB)
• Cllr Declan McDonnell, Galway City, (IND)

The Department provided some further details.

"The members of the Irish delegation to the Committee of the Regions are all elected members of local authorities. They are also members of one of the three Regional Assemblies. Any councillor appointed as a full member of the Committee of the Regions automatically becomes a member of the relevant regional assembly if they are not already an assembly member," it said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Cllr Dwane Stanley, who is husband of former Laois TD Brian Stanley, is already a member of the Eastern and Midlands Regional Assembly which is chaired by Laois and Portlaoise Fianna Fail councillor Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald.

The Department said the role of the Committee of the Regions is primarily as a consultative and advisory body representing the interests of local and regional government as part of the EU policy and legislative framework.

It said the EU treaties oblige the Commission and Council to consult the Committee of the Regions whenever new proposals are made in areas that have repercussions at regional or local level. In addition, the Commission, Council and European Parliament have the option to consult with the Committee of the Regions if they see important regional or local implications to a proposal. The term of office for the Committee of the Regions is 5 years: the new term will run from January 2025 – January 2030.

The over 300 members of the Committee gather in Brussels for three day plenary sessions through out the year. There were six of these in 2023. The most recent was in October this year when one of the key speakers was former boxer Vitali Klitschko, who is Mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine.

Members also debated Hungary's Presidency of the European Union, discussed extreme weather events and explored investment opportunities for regions and cities with the President of the European Investment Bank.

Dep Stanley and Sinn Féin have declined to comment on her nomination by the party to the Committee of the Regions for a new five-year term. However, she did confirm that she has been a member since 2020.

The Committee says the Irish delegation is active in promoting Irish local and regional interests both within Ireland and on the wider stage. It says the Delegation has regularly met with the Oireachtas (Parliament) EU Affairs Committee and has made numerous submissions and presentations on EU and governance-related issues reflecting the Irish local and regional perspective.