Community Relations Council

The Fund supports projects in areas such as youth work and community development designed to increase relations between Unionists and Nationalists throughout Ireland.

The funding package includes £702,978 over three years for The Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Also, Youth Initiatives in Poleglass in Belfast will receive £674,517 towards the construction of a new fit-for-purpose cross-community youth facility.

The Fund’s Community Bridges Programme is supporting the Lurgan Youth Providers with a grant of £229,690 to fund a strategic two-year Community Relations Youth Project to connect and co-ordinate all community relations, youth and support activity in the deeply divided town of Lurgan.

£3.7m/€4.5m will go towards the Fund's Building Integration Programme. This includes £2.8m/€3.3m for a number of projects which fall under the Sharing in Education Programme, the largest of which is the Partnership, Inclusion, Reconciliation, Citizenship and History (PIRCH) Project. The PIRCH Project will provide for six pairs of non-selective post-primary schools of different religions to form sustainable working partnerships to improve community relations in divided areas.

Dr Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the Fund, said: "Today's funding announcement demonstrates the Fund's continued commitment to bringing together people from the Unionist and Nationalist traditions, be it in a classroom, on a youth programme, in housing or through work with local urban and rural communities.

"We recognise the progress that has been made towards building lasting peace in Northern Ireland and the southern border counties, but it is clear that after the long years of civil unrest much of our society remains segregated. The Fund is determined to continue to support initiatives that will help our local communities to learn, work and live together as part of a truly shared and prosperous society."

Since its inception, the Fund has committed more than £648m/€811m to a wide variety of projects in the North and the southern border counties. Contributors to the Fund are the United States of America, the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.