Posts tagged ‘Community relations’

: Draft CSI strategy

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Two and a half years on from the Programme for Government’s publication, the cohesion, sharing and integration, programme replaces ‘A Shared Future’ from the days of direct rule. Published in draft form by OFMDFM on 27 July, it is the first community relations strategy drawn up by a power-sharing government. However, the long delay in its production and the very public differences of opinion in autumn 2008, when the DUP and Sinn Féin published rival drafts, suggest that it may not achieve all its aims. Jointly launching the document, Peter Robinson reflected that “we have all...[full story]

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Posted in Education, Housing, Reform, Social | No Comments »

: Not just good relations

Monday, April 5th, 2010
Relations between the two communities have improved but sectarianism remains ingrained in Northern Ireland, the Community Relations Council’s Duncan Morrow tells Ryan Jennings. Naivety, he has been accused of. But naive he is not. Duncan Morrow has heard it all before; that he is just looking for people to be nice to each other and that the economy should be the number one priority. He doesn’t dispute the latter, but sees a different route needed to get to there. The organisation he heads, the Community Relations Council, exists very simply to counter sectarianism and racism. Its...[full story]

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Posted in Economy, Issues, Reform, Social | No Comments »

: Living together?

Monday, March 8th, 2010
The housing selection scheme could increase division, according to Housing Minister Margaret Ritchie. Ryan Jennings looks at how integrated housing could be encouraged. When the Housing Executive was set up in 1971 its main aim was to move away from the evident inequalities in council housing allocation. Up until that year, as is still the norm over the water, ‘council housing’ really did mean housing owned by the council. The executive is now charged with ownership of the social housing stock. While the waiting list has fluctuated, it now sits at over 40,000, with another 20,000...[full story]

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Posted in Housing, Issues, Reform | No Comments »

: The way forward

Monday, December 21st, 2009
Both Sinn Féin and the DUP have published their own cohesion, sharing and integration strategies. agendaNi looks at where the parties can agree but also where the sticking point lies. By their own admission, there are some things the DUP and Sinn Féin can agree on, but there are many they cannot. A common cohesion, sharing and integration (CSI) strategy belongs in the latter column. Comments from both parties highlight the main differences between them: for Sinn Féin, read ‘equality’ and for the DUP, read ‘integration’. Martina Anderson has said outright that “Sinn Féin...[full story]

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Posted in Politics | No Comments »