Who pushed for extension to £80m poverty pot? Eastwood

Up to twenty projects aimed at tackling poverty, unemployment and dereliction in poor areas of Londonderry and the Western Trust will benefit from an £80m state investment. Area plans for investment zones in Londonderry and the Western Trust area were due to be submitted to OFMDFM at the end of February.

Londonderry and the Western Trust are among nine investment zones that will benefit from the fund to tackle deprivation and dereliction under the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF). The fund was scheduled to run until 2015 but it’s now emerged it has been extended until 2016.

Mr Eastwood has asked who pushed for the extension and what was the rationale for it.

In a joint reply First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness stated: “The SIF Steering Groups were established last year to identify the priority needs in their zones under the four key objectives of the Fund.

“In December 2012 we decided that, in response to feedback received from Steering Groups during the area planning process, the first phase of the Fund would be extended to March 2016.

“The area planning phase itself was also extended as a result. The majority view of the Steering Groups was for an extended delivery period in order to maximise the impact of interventions.”

The area plans have been reviewed by steering groups that in Londonderry includes: Alison Wallace, Charles Lamberton, Darren Kirby, Noel McCartney, Ann Donnelly, Drew Thompson, Paul Fleming and Marion Quinn; and in the Western Trust includes: Dr Norman Baxter, Gerard Harkin, Liz Kavanagh, Maureen McKeague, Alison Brimstone, Derek Hussey, Michaela Boyle and Sean Lynch.