The Monitoring Committee for the Southern & Eastern Regional Programme 14-20 met on 21 April remotely to discuss progress on the funding programme. Representatives from the Irish Government, local elected members, public, private and third sectors and the European Commission took part with valuable contributions on the activities and supports provided by the Programme to the S&E region.
The Committee monitors the delivery of the Programme which provides €620 million from both the European Regional Development Fund and the Irish Government to support a variety of activities across the Southern & Eastern region of Ireland under the themes of Research, Technology Development & Innovation, SME Competitiveness, Low Carbon Economy and Sustainable Urban Development.
A key discussion point related to the reprogramming of the funding to respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020 with the Health Support Scheme which funds the HSE’s drive to secure and sustain continuity of access and supply of essential PPE for the health services in Ireland. HSE Health Business Services has led the extraordinary challenge to ensure the supply of PPE through a multi-agency approach with regulatory support from the Health Products Regulatory Authority.
ERDF funding of €286,580,931 has been awarded to the HSE from the Border, Midlands & Western (BMW) Regional Programme (€97,415,632), and the Southern & Eastern (S&E) Regional Programme (€189,165,299) for the supply of COVID-19 PPE to the health service in the S&E and BMW regions.