

Established in 1994, the Committee of the Regions an EU advisory body and political assembly of 350 local and regional elected representatives from all EU countries.
It is the voice of our regions and cities in the EU law making process. It advises on new laws that have an impact on regions and cities – comprising 70% of all EU legislation - and meets six times per year to debate proposed legislation and agree on resolutions for further action by the EU.
Six thematic commissions prepare the opinions of the CoR in response to new legislation proposed by the European Commission. The thematic commissions then submit draft versions of opinions and resolutions for discussion and adoption at every plenary session.
- CIVEX: Citizenship, Governance, Institutional & External Affairs
- COTER: Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy & EU Budget
- ECON: Economic policy
- ENVE: Environment, Climate Change & Energy
- NAT: Natural Resources
Ireland is represented by 9 delegates (9 full members and 9 alternates) representing the local and regional tiers of Irish government in EU policy formation and decision-making processes. They are nominated by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Representatives from the Southern Region are Cllr Michael Murphy, Cllr. Kieran McCarthy, Cllr. Deirdre Forde, Cllr Conor D. McGuinness (alternate), Cllr Gillian Coughlan (alternate) and Cllr. Dan Boyle (alternate). They are also Members of the Southern Regional Assembly due to their representative role on the Committee of the Regions.
Committee of the Regions Member | Local Authority | CoR Political Group | Thematic Commission |
Cllr. Michael Murphy | Tipperary County Council | European People's Party | Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External affairs; Commission for Economic Policy |
Cllr. Kieran McCarthy | Cork City Council | European Alliance | Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy; Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment and Culture |
Cllr. Deirdre Forde | Cork City Council | European People's Party | Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy; Commission for Economic Policy |
Cllr. Conor D McGuiness (Alternate) | Waterford City & County Council | Not Affiliated | Not Affiliated |
Cllr. Gillian Coughlan (Alternate) | Cork County Council | Renew Europe | Not Affiliated |
Cllr. Dan Boyle (Alternate) | Cork City Council | The Greens | Not Affiliated |
For further information visit: https://cor.europa.eu/en