The Five Demands

£2m peace wall removal plan (UTV)
Justice Minister David Ford has welcomed a new £2m fund for the removal of peace walls in Northern Ireland.
The money allocated by the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) will go towards bridging divided communities at interfaces across the region.
There are almost 90 barriers separating Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods – most of them are in Belfast.
Mr Ford said the funding will “bring us closer” to dismantling the structures.
“A real window of opportunity exists to continue the progress we have made in recent months on interface structures,” the Alliance minister said.
“The more resources we can dedicate to building confidence in interface communities, the greater the opportunities for success.
“The commitment and the funding package announced today by the International Fund for Ireland can only help to bring us closer to the removal of more barriers and I am looking forward to discussing this initiative in greater detail with Denis Rooney.”
The IFI is an independent, internationally-funded organisation promoting reconciliation between unionists and nationalists throughout the island.
Its chairman, Dr Denis Rooney, said there has been progress in recent years but many communities worry the walls may be coming down too quickly.
He explained: “Since the 1994 ceasefire, the number of barriers has grown.
“However, many community groups, some with the support of the Fund, are doing courageous work across interfaces and in the past few years their conversations have moved towards when, rather than if, the barriers will come down.
“The physical removal of these barriers is a matter for the Department of Justice but the Fund believes that its Peace Walls Programme, which is complementary to other initiatives that are under way, will help create dialogue, build trust and confidence and develop greater cross-community cohesion with a view to communities reaching agreement that it is time to start removing the barriers.”
It is hoped that programme activity will start in June.