22/11/2005

Effective mechanisms for access to funding essential

Social Development Minister David Hanson has said that it is vital that effective mechanisms are established for access to Government funding.

He was speaking during a visit to the North West, as part of his ongoing consultation to hear views from Loyalist areas about improving local community infrastructure and tackling regeneration.

During his visit, Mr Hanson met representatives of the Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist communities at a forum organised by the Department for Social Development's (DSD) North West Development Office, in the Everglades Hotel.

"It is important that Government reaches a mature and informed understanding of the complexity of concerns within the Protestant community," the Minister said.

"My visit to Londonderry today is the latest in a sequence of events designed to engage with stakeholders within the Protestant community. Today's forum was an open and frank discussion and certainly helped in developing my appreciation of the issues facing the Protestant community within the city."

Following the forum in The Everglades Hotel, Mr Hanson visited the Fountain area, accompanied by members of the West Bank Initiative, a newly formed group whose aim is to promote the urban regeneration of the area.

(MB/SP)

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