Education

Five Irish citizens were among 150 citizens from across the EU who took part in the summit in Brussels.  They were Evelyn Boylan from Scotstown, County Monaghan; Noreen Kelly, Ballyvolane, Cork City; Niall O’Reilly from Maynooth, County Kildare; and Dubliners Brid Bowles, from Lusk and Michael Morrissey, Cabinteely (foreground) who was asked to share a platform with European Commission President  Jose Manuel Barroso and other  top policy-makers.  

Five Irish citizens were among 150 citizens from across the EU who took part in the summit in Brussels.  They were Evelyn Boylan from Scotstown, County Monaghan; Noreen Kelly, Ballyvolane, Cork City; Niall O’Reilly from Maynooth, County Kildare; and Dubliners Brid Bowles, from Lusk and Michael Morrissey, Cabinteely (foreground) who was asked to share a platform with European Commission President  Jose Manuel Barroso and other  top policy-makers  

Five Irish citizens from Cork, Monaghan, Kildare and Dublin were among 150 citizens from across the EU who took part in the summit in Brussels.  They were Evelyn Boylan from Scotstown, County Monaghan; Noreen Kelly, Ballyvolane, Cork City; Niall O’Reilly from Maynooth, County Kildare; and Dubliners Brid Bowles, from Lusk and Michael Morrissey, Cabinteely (foreground) who was asked to share a platform with European Commission President  Jose Manuel Barossa and other  top policy-makers.

Now that national consultations have taken place in all 27 Member States, discover the European citizens' recommendations for the economic and social future of the EU, by clicking here.

Stronger EU regulation of financial institutions and sharing information on best practice in healthcare and labour laws across Europe are among the top ten recommendations from the Irish participants in a Europe-wide citizens consultation on how the Union should best address current challenges. (Full recommendations list below and on www.forumoneurope.ie ). The Irish consultation, organised by the National Forum On Europe, was held in Dublin Castle over the weekend and was webcast on RTÉ.ie/Live. Similar consultations have been taking place in all twenty seven EU countries.

Our ailing economy could benefit from foreign students. Attracting thousands more foreign students to Ireland could help to boost our ailing economy.  With Ireland one of only two English-speaking countries in the EU, key figures in education have suggested that the language should be one of our greatest economic resources. But we have so far failed to exploit it.  The potential of international education as an economic moneyspinner is shown by its importance in Australia and Britain.

As the economic crisis continues to get worse, creativity and innovation are key to strengthening Europe's competitiveness and must remain on the EU agenda beyond the current European Year, leading EU politicians stressed at the launch event in Prague this week. Special ambassadors to the European Year, who attended the launch, welcomed the commissioner's call to make additional funding available to improve the bloc's competitiveness, suggesting that it should be spent on issues such as human capital creation, productivity growth and environmental protection.