Peace spending in Londonderry

A PEACE charity established to promote better relations between Protestants and Catholics spent over three quarters of a million pounds in Londonderry last year - half of this used to sustain twenty staff jobs.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Jan 2010, 14:43 BST

Updated 5th Jan 2010, 14:44 BST

The Community Relations Council (CRC) - set up nineteen years ago to help bridge the confessional divide and promote cultural diversity throughout Northern Ireland - spent a total of 807,280 in 2008/9 in the Derry City Council area.

Twenty peace-building jobs were sustained by this funding at a cost of 405,630. This was the largest allocation from the CRC anywhere outside of Belfast where an overall award of 1,931,463 sustained almost 50 jobs last year.

Londonderry peace workers may also have benefited from funding allocated across Council divides. This accounted for 1,037,771 of the CRC's spending last year. 713,830 of this money sustained 43 staff posts.

Neighbouring Strabane received 117,775 during the same period with 39,506 being used to pay for two staff posts. Limavady received an overall award of 8,814 but none of this was spent on staffing.

Belfast Northern Ireland