Newsletter article about Peace II Conference
01 July 2005
Protestants were urged last night to put EU funding bodies to the test and start applying for xash from the PEACE II programme.
DUP MEP Jim Allister told an information evening in east Belfast that it was time to end the previous trend of mostly nationalists benefitting from the scheme.
Jim Allister reminded over 300 delegates drawn from the community that in previous rounds of EU funding, many unionists had failed to apply for money for various community projects which would be eligible for the cash.
More nationalist groups applied, with the result that the majority Protestant community has received less funding.
"The figures show that the majority community has not had its fair share of the funding," says Mr Allister. "We need the Protestant/unionist community to start applying and put these funding bodies to the test.
It is clear from the massive turnout at this evening's event that there exists a great appetite for funding within the Protestant/unionist community.
To date, the desire to take advantage of the structures of the PEACE programme has been stymied and held back by, among other things, a lack of information and awareness as to what funding is available and who exactly can take advantage of it.
This evening's event, which was attended by 300 delegates, was a highly productive affair with lots of useful information and discussion taking place. I wish to thank the representatives of the various implementing bodies for giving of their time to participate; particularly Shaun Henry, director of PEACE II at SEUPB."
Mr Allister pledged to end what he labelled anti-unionist bias and said he aimed to equip unionists with the necessary support to apply for funding from the scheme.
Alistair Bushe
