Irish Regions Office, Brussels
The Irish Regions Office (IRO) was established in 2000 as a Brussels based resource for sub-national government in Ireland. The operation of the office involves a partnership between the Association of Irish Regions (AIR), the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the County and City Managers Association (CCMA).
The IRO works with and on behalf of the sub-national authorities in Ireland. The office maintains direct contact with the Directors of the Regional Authorities and Regional Assemblies and is routinely engaged in coordinating the production and promotion of policy and position papers on behalf of AIR and the Irish Delegation to the CoR. It also assists local and regional authorities in developing EU projects (including identifying and accessing EU funds and finding transnational partners) and responds to general requests for information on and from sub-national authorities in Ireland.
The IRO also maintains close contact with the various EU institutions. The work of the IRO benefits from the quality of its links, both formal and informal, with the main institutions, and more specifically with key policy and decision makers. Formal engagement with the Institutions is facilitated through representation on the CoR and through membership of European Commission consultative forums. At an informal level, the IRO has a close working relationship with individual departments of the European Commission, as well as with MEPs, the Irish Permanent Representation, other Irish representations, regional representation offices and various other Brussels based organisations.
Contact Details:
Head of Office: Robert Collins
Research & Information Officer: Ronan Gingles
Address:
Irish Regions Office
Rond-Point Schuman 11
B-1040 Brussels
Tel: 00-32-2-233 1122
Fax: 00-32-2-734 4434
E-mail: robert.collins@iro.ie
www.iro.ie
