Northern Ireland Community Relations Council - About Us - Council Minutes

29 January 2009

MINUTES OF THE ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-THIRD MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL HELD ON THURSDAY 29TH JANUARY 2009 @ 1.30 p.m. IN CRC’S BOARDROOM, 1ST FLOOR, GLENDINNING HOUSE, 6 MURRAY STREET, BELFAST, BT1 6DN

1947/09 PRESENT: Action:

Mr M Campbell, Mr J Deery, Mr S Farry, Ms H Francey, Ms E Gallagher, Ms S Gordon, Ms M Hetherington, Mr T McCusker. (Chair), Ms S McDermott, Ms R McCorley, Ms C Wilson.

1948/09 APOLOGIES:

Mr D Porter, Mr E Oakes, Ms M Muldoon, Mr T Kennedy.

1949/09 IN ATTENDANCE:

Dr D Morrow [CEO], Ms J Irwin {Deputy CEO], Mr J Fitzsimons [P/D DFAP], Mr R Mullan [P/D Communication & Resources], Ms D McGlade [P/D Policy Dev], Ms G Attwood [PO/Policy Dev], Ms H Scott [P/Secretary].

Gillian Robinson [INCORE]

Paula Devine [Queen’s University]

1950/09 OBSERVER:

Mr D Haire (CRU/OFMDFM)

1951/09 MINUTES:

The Minutes from the previous meeting (26 November 2008) having been circulated, were taken as read. There were no amendments.

1952/09 PRESENTATION:

Life and Times Survey (NILT) – Paula Devine and Gillian Robinson (ARK)

The Chairman indicated that this item (Agenda No.5) should be brought forward to enable Ms Robinson and Ms Devine to leave after their presentation.

Ms Devine said that the survey’s predecessor was known as N I Social Attitudes Survey (1989 – 1996)

1952/09 Life and Times Survey continued: Action:

Ms Devine she said that the survey had been on-going since 1998. She said the survey:

§ Monitored attitudes and behaviour of people in N Ireland: via time-series and public record

§ Involved 1200 adults aged 18 years or over

§ Was in modular format

§ Had an independent range of funders

Respondents had been:

49% male, 51% female;

49% Protestant, 41% Catholic, 10% no religion

99% while

3% from Eastern European countries

4% member of minority ethnic community

2% migrant workers

Ms Robinson told members that Government targets (mean scores) had been used. The following responses were monitored:

Fig 1: % believing that relations between Protestants and Catholics are better now than 5 yrs ago (by religion)

Fig 2: % believing that relations between Protestants and Catholics are better now than 5 yrs ago (by age group)

Fig 3: % believing that relations between Protestants and Catholics will be better in 5 yrs time (by religion).

Fig 4: % believing that relations between Protestants and Catholics will be better in 5 yrs time (by age group)

Fig 5: % saying they would prefer to live in a mix-religion neighbourhood (by religion)

Fig 6: % saying they would prefer to live in a mixed-religion neighbourhood (by age group)

Fig 7: % saying they would prefer to work in a mixed-religion workplace (by religion)

Fig 8: % % saying they would prefer to work in a mixed-religion workplace (by age group)

Fit 9: saying they would prefer to send their children to a mixed-religion school (by religion)

Fig 10: saying they would prefer to send their children to a mixed-religion school (by age group)

Ms Robinson reported that the majority of the findings were encouraging and indicated an overall improvement. She pointed out however that this study appeared to indicate that “mixed religion neighbourhoods” Figs: 5 & 6 (by

1952/09 Life and Times Survey continued: Action:

religion and age) and “mixed religion schools” Figs: 9 & 10 (by religion and age) seemed to show a decrease in interest, whereas the figures for “no religion” and “65 yrs +” in age seemed to indicate a fairly consistent upward trend throughout.

Ms Robinson stated that this could be a temporary “glitch” and that later surveys would reveal if this were the case.

There was some general discussion.

(Ms Devine and Ms Robinson left the boardroom at 2.15 p.m.)

1953/09 MATTERS ARISING:

(i) Rescheduling of Governance Committee [Mins 1939/08, para 2 refers]: The CEO said that this meeting had been one of the meetings that had been cancelled as result of a delayed return to work (family bereavement)

(ii) Recruitment of New members: [Mins 139/08 para 1 refers] The CEO The CEO told members that this was another matter which had been delayed due to sick leave and his having to oversee finances. He asked those members due to retire if they would continue to serve until June to facilitate the continuance of Council. The CEO said that the Chair would approach these members individually to discuss this matter.

(iii) One Small Step:[Mins 1935/08 Item 2 refers] The Chair informed members that there was broad agreement in terms of its “advisory relationship” with Council. He said he had been agreed to continue under the auspices of One Small Step and that the newspaper campaign would commence with an article by Trevor Ringland. The Chair said that the Council would provide a venue for One Small Step meetings and that discussions around budget management would be re-activated.

1954/09 CHAIR’S BUSINESS:

(1) Death of CEO’s father: The Chair offered condolences to Duncan Morrow on the death of his father on New year’s day. He said that the large attendance at the funeral was a testament to the man, his commitment to Corrymeela and to his life’s work.

Death of Secretary’s mother: The Chair extended condolences to Holly Scott on the death of her mother in South Africa just prior to Christmas. One Small Step book launch: The Chair said that this booklet (One hundred small steps) was now available. He said that the original group would be meeting in CRC next week and members would be regularly updated on any initiatives.

Death of Founder Council member Mr Terence Donaghy: The Chair said that Mr Donaghy had been on a peace march outside the city hall when he had collapsed and died. He said that this funeral had also been well attended marking Mr Donaghy’s involvement and commitment to peace and cross community.

1954/09 Chair’s business continued: Action:

(2) Welcome back to Mr Fitzsimons: The Chair welcomed Mr Fitzsimons back from sick leave and pleased that he was looking well and back to full health.

(3)Communications review: The Chair said that this item would be picked up later in the meeting under Agenda No. 9.

(4) Eddie Rooney: The CEO said that Mr Rooney was leaving OFMDFM to take up a position with a new health body as part of the health reform.

(5) Peace III Programme: The Chair read from Mr Pat Colgan’s (SEPUB) letter which talked about the huge reputation that the Cou7ncil had achieved during the process of Peace II applications and expressed the view that it was a considerable achievement.

(6) Eames Bradley presentation: The CEO said that Mr Porter was unable to do a presentation to Council as his furniture was due to arrive in Coventry today and he had to be there.

1955/09 OPERATIONAL PLAN:

[Papers CRC/133/01/09/01(a) & (b); 01.1(a) & (b) and 01.2 refers]

(a) Operational Planning Review 3^rd Quarter – 01(a) & (b) refers

Ms Irwin said that these papers were to updated members on the implementation of CRC’s Operational Plan 08-09. She said there were “spaces” where the Plan continued to be delayed (affected by lack of outcome re Govt review) but that any activity that had been possible had been recorded.

Ms Irwin advised that the full Operational Plan 01(b) had been tabled at the meeting (too bulky for posting).

Ms Irwin told members besides working with the internal auditors, staff were also reviewing and revising CRC’s Financial Procedures manual.

Ms Irwin reported that the Core Funding Evaluation Officer had completed one full year of evaluations and was preparing a paper on the issues facing CRC in evaluating CR work. She said that a Funding Committee seminar was taking place in Dungannon on the 3^rd February and would give Committee members an opportunity to share experiences and evaluation would be one of the items on the agenda.

Ms Irwin informed members that the Victims Programme was considering carrying out a review of its funding of this area of work .

1955/09 Operational Plan: Action:

Ms Irwin indicated that Community Bridges Programme would shortly be recruiting more staff to assist with evaluation and to assist with the current workload.

(b) Risk Register– 01.1(a) & 01.1(b) refers

Ms Irwin informed members that this Register was now under the scrutiny of the Audit Committee. She drew members attention to the internal communication elements which had been re-examined and adjusted (page 7 refers).

There were no questions.

(Ms Wilson left the boardroom at 2.55 p.m.)

The Chair informed members that the matter of remuneration had been under consideration for some time. He said that the solicitor had advised that Council needed to make a “provision” in the Memorandum. The Chair clarified that the “provision” would be an enabling clause.

The recommendations:

§ That council approve the change to the Articles of Association, pending formal approval by Dept Finance and Personnel.

§ The CEO and Chair discuss the matter of remuneration with the sponsoring Department with a view to bringing back a formal proposal for consideration

§ That the new Articles of Association be placed at Companies House within the requisite time.

The CEO told members that when the Articles of Association had been passed by DFP they would be presented to an extra-ordinary meeting of Council for final approval.

This was agreed, proposed by Mr McCusker, seconded by Mr Farry.

1956/09 FINANCE:

[Papers CRC/133/01/09/02(a) & (b) + covering page 02.1 refer]

Mr Fitzsimons told members that the format of the Management Accounts paper was different to what had previously been issued. He said that staff was working with Messrs Finegan Gibson to ensure greater clarity and, to this end, it was intended to provide more detailed financial information in the future. Mr Fitzsimons said that any imperfections would be removed as the process was streamlined and that he would inform members of any changes as they accrue.

Mr Fitzsimons confirmed that Council would not overspend it’s a greed budget allocations in the period to 31 March 2008 and that a formal request to the sponsoring Department would be made to seek virement where pressures on budge headings were identified.,

Financial Statement - 02(b) refers

Mr Fitzsimons pointed out that Mr McCartan and Mr O’Loan should not have appeared as Chairman and (Company) Secretary and this would be amended.

Grant Expenditure Review A – G (November to December 2008)

The CEO pointed out that this review did not show IFI (Community Bridges) or EU (Peace II extension) grants.

1957/09 PATHFINDER – Suffolk-Lenadoon Interface Group (SLIG)

[Paper CRC/133/01/09/03 & appendix refers]

The CEO told members that this group continued to do good work and had established themselves as an important interface initiative for many years working with people from both sides of the road.

The CEO said that the project met the criteria for the Pathfinder scheme and he had suggested three options (as per attached paper) for Council consideration.

Option 1 (as below) was unanimously approved by Council.

Option 1: To pay staff costs of up to £28,061.00

(Programme costs could be applied for separately under CRC’s small grant scheme.)

1958/09 REVIEW OF COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY:

[Paper CRC/133/01/09/04 refers]

The Chair said that this was a proposal to have and independent review of CRC’s external communications, public affairs and advocacy role. He said that in the past this had tended happen in an ad hoc fashion without a clear strategy. The Chair said that he and Mr Kennedy (Chair of Communications/Policy Committee) were very much in favour of this and asked members if they were happy that this matter was progressed. He said members would be up-dated on anyprogress. Chair

This was agreed.

(Ms Attwood joined the meeting at 3.40 p.m.)

1959/09 POLICY PAPERS:

[Papers CRC/133/01/09/05, 05.1 & 05.2 refer]

(i) DENI review of Irish Medium Education – 05

(ii) DSD draft Equality Impact Assessment-Crumlin Road Goal/Girdwood Park site 05.1

(iii) NIO – Together, Stronger, Safer; Community Safety in NI - 05.2

Ms Attwood provided a background to each paper and advised members that these had moved through the various Committees before coming to Council for final ratification.

· DENI review of Irish Medium Education – no amendments

· DSD Draft Equality Impact Assessment Crumlin Rd Goal/Girdwood: The CEO said that this paper was, in part, a reiteration of a previous paper. He said there was a debate that this thinking was not integrated into the original planning. The CEO expressed the view that if North Belfast was left out of the loop there was a potential for increasing deprivations and poverty. He said that the project should be embedded with equality and good relations and that housing was a major issue.

Mrs Gallagher suggested that, given that housing was most important, it should be moved to the top of the paper. Ms Attwood

· NIO – Together, Stronger, Safer; Community Safety in NI– Comment: Community participation is key to developing and delivering good quality community safety projects.

The above three papers were approved.

(Ms Attwood left the boardroom at 3.40 p.m.)

1960/09 SECTOR REPORTS: Action:

Papers CRC/133/01/09/07 to 11 refer]

These reports outline the main areas of work.

§ Funding & Development Programme – 07

No questions for this sector.

§ European Programme – 08

Peace III – Ms Irwin updated members.

Theme1.1: Building Positive Relationships at the Local Level

Aim: to provide technical support to Local Authorities and assist in the development of Peace and Reconciliation Partnerships and the implementation of Peace and Reconciliation Action plans.

Consortium (CRC and Border Action) staff are continuing, on behalf of SEUPB to support Council clusters to deliver peace plans. Many of them are still dealing with contractual and procurement issues and will face considerable pressure in the deliver of N+2 spend targets (set by SEUPB) and delivery on the objective of the plans (esp. significant given Councils’ changing structures and roles).

Theme 1.2: Acknowledging and dealing with the past.

Strand1: Addressing the Past in Public Memory €5-10m

Aim: This strand seeks to implement actions that explore the legacy and memory of the conflict through truth recovery, documentation, story telling and the recording of complex history and experience.

(a) Expressions of Interest: 46 received (Oct-Nov ’08)

(b) Next step:

Ø Information day to be arranged at the start of 2009 to progress and outline tender process

Ø Focussed call for three areas:

· Television/Broadcasting: The development of a television/radio series examining the human, community and political legacy of violence and conflict in Ireland and the challenge of reconciliation.

· Archiving: To support the development of a common public archive of matters relating to the violent past and may include a number of related projects which record the experience of specific localities or particular traditions.

1960/09 Sector Reports (EU Programme) continued: Action:

· Story telling: To support and facilitate story-telling/dialogue sessions which seek to discuss/learn from the impact and experience of conflict from the perspective of many different strands of experience.

(c) Funding call scheduled for March 2009

Strand2: – Support for Participation €20-25m

Aim: To address the suffering of victims and survivors and the conflict as an essential element of reconciliation.

Measure opened – Friday 20^th June 2008 – rolling programme. Measure closed – Friday 30 January 2009. 53 applications received 19 assessed to date. 14 approved so far (€4,717,102.14)

Strand 3: Securing the Future €15-20m.

Aim: Innovative actions that will help prevent an outbreak of violence into the future, by taking action to repair relationships and by engaging the wider community in peace-building and reconciliation work.

Supporting schemes for future generations which seek to address and prevent the outbreak of violence along the lines of inherited and emerging divisions in society.

Measure opened – 14^th April 2008. Measure closed – 13 June 2008. 65 applications received and assessed. 28 applications approved (€13,527,343.72)

§ Communication & Learning Resources - 09

§ Community Bridges Programme - 10

§ Policy Development Programme - 11

No questions for the above sectors.

1961/09 CEO’s REPORT:

[Paper CRC/133/01/09/06 refers]

This paper outlines the main areas of work.

Victims strategy – The CEO reported that this scheme had been extended (again) and staff would be in place. He suggested that even if there was a consensus about financial allocations the immediate issue was the lack of a victims’ strategy.

Eames Bradley – The CEO said that the recent launch of the report (Consultative Group on the Past) had emphasised how enormously emotive this issue continued to be. He expressed the view that the £12,000 payment would be extremely difficult to implement. The CEO thought that the definition of “who is a victim” had caused a huge amount of public misunderstanding and that this

appeared not to have been thought about. He said the document was filled with references to a shared future which had been included without discussions with CRC.

Ms McCorley said that she though the project had been doomed to failure as it had been commissioned by the Government and any attempt to deal with this issue should have been undertaken by an “outside” or international (and neutral) group.

The Chair suggested that the report needed to be discussed and recommended that a small group (of Council members) be convened for this purpose.

CEO

Ms Gallagher said that as a member of Council had been involved in the production of the report he should be included in the group.

CEO

(Mr Mullan left the meeting at 4 p.m.)

Bill of Rights – The CEO stated that as there no political agreement on a Bill of Rights, the Strategic Review of Parades would not be able to publish its report due to this and other outstanding issues.

IFI Ambit Programme – The CEO said that as part of an on-going (past 6.5 yrs) commitment to this Programme he would be accompanying this year’s group to the United States from 8 – 19^th March. He indicated that the Deputy CEO, Ms Irwin would be covering the office in his absence.

(Ms Francey left the meeting at 4.07 p.m.)

1962/09 DATES OF NEXT MEETINGS:

The Chairman confirmed that the following were the dates of the next meetings.

§ Denotes changes from previous notification.

Thurs 29^th Jan 2009 (1.30 to 4 p.m.) – Murray Street

Thurs 26^th Mar 2009 (1.30 to 4 p.m.) – Murray Street

§ Thurs 21^st May 2009 (1.30 to 4 p.m.) – Murray Street(pleasenote: this venue is changed to Belfast to accommodate Audit requirements)

§ Fri 19^th June 2009(10 a.m.- 12.30 p.m.) – Linen Green Centre, Dungannon (please note: date, time and venue changed)

Community Relations Council

January 29th 2009