Victims'
groups to get £12m in aid.
From IRISH NEWS February 22nd, 2001
By Neil McKnight
VICTIMS of Northern Ireland's conflict will receive a welcome boost today
with cash aid of £12 million for bereaved families and support groups. Victims
Minister Adam Ingram unveiled the largest ever funding package for victims
under a scheme to acknowledge and addressing the suffering of victims and
survivors, as identified in the Good Friday agreement.
This new money will be spent over the next three years and is double the
amount of money the British government has given since 1998. The Northern
Ireland Memorial Fund, which was set up in 1998 following recommendations
in Sir Kenneth Bloomfield's report We Will Remember Them, will get £3 million.
The allocation of the remaining £9 million will be confirmed later this
year and it is expected to focus on providing care and counselling for victims,
and funding training and education courses for children and adults.
Mr Ingram, left, said the cash aid brought the total amount of money provided
for victims and survivors to £18.25 million. "Today we are fulfilling the commitment I made in July 2000, when I produced the government's response to the review of criminal injuries compensation and promised a further commitment of funds from next April to take forward the recommendations in Sir Kenneth Bloomfield's report, " he said.
"This funding will provide sustainability for the victims community and will build upon the vital work which has already been undertaken since the publication of the report in 1998." "This latest funding package recognises the need to carry this work forward and the government's commitment to the needs of victims and survivors, " he added. The Northern Ireland Memorial
Fund hopes this money will make their new respite break pilot scheme, introduced
in May 2000, a permanent programme.
The scheme provides short holidays for individuals and families. The fund
also hopes the cash will further its Educational and Training Bursary Scheme,
which assists children and adults whose education or careers have been cut
short by the troubles. The fund's chairman, Prof George Bain, said he believed
the money would further its support to victims' groups.
"I am absolutely delighted that the Northern Ireland Memorial Fund is to benefit from this substantial financial commitment, " he said. "It will enable the fund to sustain its existing programmes and develop and introduce further measures that address many of the immediate needs of victims and their families, " he said.
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