Jerry Buttimer, Irish Minister for Rural Affairs and Community Development, has shown great interest in the collaboration within the framework of the European Network of Cider Cities and has committed to transfer information to the rest of the Irish government.
Members of the board of the European Network of Apple and Cider Cities -Cider Cities- among which is the founding partner and president of the Asturies XXI Foundation, Marcos Abel Fernandez have met this morning with the Irish Minister for Rural Environment and Community Development Jerry Buttimer and Cork County Councillor Jack White.
In this meeting they were formally invited to participate in Cider Cities, explaining in detail what this association of cider producing cities and councils throughout Europe consists of and what this collaboration would consist of. It is worth mentioning the good reception and the interest that the proposal aroused in the Irish politicians, announcing Jerry Buttimer that he is going to transfer information to the rest of the Irish government, especially to the senator who works at the level of rural associations and to the representatives of his country in the European Parliament.
In the afternoon, the Asturian delegation met with Moira Murrell, CEO of Cork City Council, with whom they discussed the concrete possibilities of collaboration between the members of Cider Cities.
Next week they will continue with the meetings, delivering to the president of the Cork Chamber of Commerce a letter from the president of the Gijón Chamber of Commerce, joining links between the two entities. Finally on Tuesday 25th they will speak with Clir Dan Boyle, Mayor of Cork.
The last act in which they will participate has a special symbolic content: they will plant an apple tree on public land in Carrigaline.
This trip will serve to strengthen the link between Asturias and Ireland, which has in the council of Cork one of its main cider areas, enhancing the progress of the European cider sector as a community.
