UNIFORMED ORGANISATIONS DESERVE SUPPORT FROM EUROPE: ALLISTER
03 July 2006
DUP Member of the European Parliament, Jim Allister QC has claimed that uniformed youth organisations such as the Boys Brigade, Girl Guides and the Scouts should be given greater financial support under the revised structures of the PEACE programme than has been the case in the past. The DUP man cited the refusal of the European Union to support organisations with a Christian ethos as the main reasons why funding had been denied to these groups previously. Mr. Allister has said he will be raising the issue with SEUPB, the body with overall responsibility for the programme, who are currently reviewing the operations and priorities of the programme.
Jim Allister said, “Uniformed organisation such as the BB, the Guides and the Scouts have many thousands of members all across Northern Ireland, and drawn from all walks of life. They perform a very valuable function in teaching young people values of discipline, self-respect and respect for others and valuable life-skills. Bearing this reality in mind, I think the funding opportunities which are available to other youth groups under the programme, should also be made available to uniformed organisations.
"The current guidelines which make it difficult for uniformed organisations to draw down money are framed in such a way so as to prevent the promotion of any particular religious point of view, but given the diversity of backgrounds of those children involved in uniformed organisation, I do not feel they apply here. I will be raising this issue with the Special EU Programmes Body as part of their on-going consultation exercise into the future of the PEACE programme and I hope that in the era of PEACE III, uniformed organisations will be empowered to access the funding they need and deserve”.
