17/07/2003

Catholic's receive majority of EU peace funding

Northern Ireland's Catholic population has received more EU peace funding money than their Protestant neighbours, a new report has revealed.

The report, entitled 'The Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation: an Estimate of Community Uptake', showed the allocation of funding, under the European Union’s Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE I), to be around 56% to the Catholic community compared to 44% for Protestants.

However, the report’s authors, consultants Trutz Haase and Jonathan Pratschke, said that Catholic's received a larger share due to relatively higher levels of disadvantage in their areas coupled with the Programme’s explicit targeting social need objective. People in predominantly Catholic areas were also more likely to apply for Programme funding, they added.

PEACE I allocated around £340 million in European Structural Funds to projects in Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Republic. Some 80% of this total was allocated in Northern Ireland where more than 13,000 projects were approved for funding.

The report’s authors state that, in keeping with the Programme’s objective of targeting social need, these bodies were effective in targeting resources towards the most disadvantaged areas in Northern Ireland.

(MB)

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