‘Minister needs to clarify status of New Innovative Fund’ – Murphy

Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy has called on Health Minister Simon Hamilton to clarify the position on the New Innovative Fund, which was supposed to have opened in January to assist charities.

“The New Innovative Fund was supposed to open in January to assist charities through funding over a three or five-year period but as yet is not available for applications,” he told Newry Times.

“Charities are confused about what the fund will cover, who will administer it and how long the scheme will last for. Some charities are seeing a reduction in funding of 25% per year leaving them unable to provide the services they are designed to provide.

“There is a worry that only innovative projects will be funded and that these will not be renewed after the initial period. We have been lobbied by charities such as the Downs Syndrome Trust who are afraid that their long-term strategies will not be covered by this fund.

Murphy added, “The Minister needs to remove all of this uncertainty immediately and clarify when this fund will be accessible to charities.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=54846

Posted by Newry Times News on Feb 25 2016. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry