Donegal needs £2m to bridge EU fund

Over 100 jobs along the Donegal border will be in jeopardy when the EU Peace Programme funding comes to an end in December, and…

Over 100 jobs along the Donegal border will be in jeopardy when the EU Peace Programme funding comes to an end in December, and it is feared much of the work carried out by voluntary groups funded by this programme will cease.

The new Peace II programme will not be set up in time to provide a continuous flow of funding for the cross-Border groups and these organisations may have to close shop or scale back their operations as a result.

Groups in Donegal and along the Border such as Lifestart, Donegal Youth Services and the Donegal Travellers' Project are now just beginning to see the benefits of the funding, but the future of their projects is in doubt.

The Letterkenny-based Donegal Community Workers' Co-operative has started a campaign to coincide with the publication this week of the Government's White Paper, Supporting Voluntary Activity. The co-op is asking the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, to stand by the commitment made in the paper to support the thousands working in community groups.

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The project worker with the Donegal Community Workers' Co-op, Ms Susanna Friel, said their aim was to persuade the Minster to provide £2 million in rescue funding to fill the gap until the Peace II programme is in place.

Many of the groups involved have been helping to alleviate poverty and disadvantage in the Border region, and their work is vital to building an infrastructure for the communities hit by the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

"Much of the work achieved by these groups will be lost with the closure of offices, the cutting of services and loss of employment," Ms Friel said. "We estimate that there will be well over 100 jobs lost in Donegal alone and this will have a detrimental effect on the motivation and capacity of voluntary workers.

"The National Development Plan states that the immediate Border area suffers more directly from the effect which the Border has had in limiting development opportunities, and here in Donegal many groups have just started to see the benefits of their hard work being funded."

Ms Friel added: "With Ireland's economy booming there is no better time to address the problem of funding for community action. It would be disastrous if the progress made over the last few years was allowed to crumble."