Sinn Fein and DUP on body to distribute funds

SINN Fein and DUP councillors are among members of a district partnership set up in Co Fermanagh to plan the distribution of …

SINN Fein and DUP councillors are among members of a district partnership set up in Co Fermanagh to plan the distribution of funds from the European Union Peace and Reconciliation Programme.

The 30 member body, formed to attract and allocate grant aid from the special EU programme, is to launch a £1.5 million initiative today.

Sinn Fein and DUP members are joined on the partnership by SDLP Ulster Unionist and independent councillors as well as representatives from local community groups, trade unions, the business sector and statutory agencies.

The Fermanagh District Partnership is one of 26 partnerships in the North formed to distribute grant aid through the District Partnerships Sub programme of the EU Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.

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Enniskillen, scene of a massive bomb attack on the town's Killyhevlin Hotel on July 13th, is the venue for the launching of the partnership's new strategy and action plan for Co Fermanagh.

The strategy, worth £1.5 million over two years, will address a range of projects which should benefit all sections of the community.

It will pay particular attention to those areas and people within the Fermanagh area which have been most affected by the conflict over the past 25 years.

Fermanagh district partnership chairman, Mr David Bolton, stressing the importance of the process, said: "The last fortnight has been a dark period in the life of Northern Ireland and once again, Enniskillen has found itself in the eye of the storm. One senses a marked deepening of the divisions and an increased profile of the things that divide us.

"The work of peace making and reconciliation is even more vital because if we do not learn to live together, then we will perish together," said Mr Bolton.

The partnership aims, through programmes of action, to be a catalyst for positive change and a focus for peace making and reconciliation in the county. It intends to support creative initiatives which will help urban and rural regeneration, economic regeneration and promote "social inclusion".