Faith Forum for Northern Ireland Assembly
During the course of a debate on a Private Member's motion on faith-based communities last week in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Minister for Social Development, Margaret Ritchie, announced that she was currently agreeing and finalising proposals to establish a two-year pilot 'faith forum for social development’.
The SDLP’s Ms Ritchie, who was elected the Party’s leader last weekend, said: "The forum will draw its members from Churches and faith groups across Northern Ireland that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to serving those in need in our community, regardless of their individual faith, religion or creed.
“Officials in the Department’s voluntary and community unit will meet with the forum quarterly to discuss relevant policy areas. At those meetings, the officials will also hear suggestions from faith-based organisations on how my Department can better partner with faith groups in harnessing and unlocking their potential to reach and help the people and communities in greatest need."
Michelle McIlveen (DUP) had introduced her Private Member’s motion: ‘That this Assembly notes the range of services provided by Churches and faith-based groups in Northern Ireland, particularly in traditionally hard-to-reach communities; notes the findings of the Faith in Wales: Counting for Communities report; and calls on the Minister for Social Development to commission a similar study to quantify the contribution made by these organisations across Northern Ireland.’
Miss McIlveen commented: “The motion refers to the findings of the Faith in Wales: Counting for Communities report. The rationale behind that was that there was little statistical evidence of the services that are provided by faith-based communities, as is the case in Northern Ireland.
“The report provides a breakdown of the faith communities in Wales along with their geographical location and shows how many of those communities are located in areas of high levels of deprivation.”
The Strangford MLA added that the Welsh report provided “the numbers of volunteers organised in those [faith] communities, the hours devoted to assisting others and the services that are currently offered by faith communities, as well as those that they hope to offer in the future”.
While Ms Ritchie said she was “unconvinced about the long-term benefits of spending scarce financial resources on such a report”, she indicated that she was “interested in consulting the future members of the faith forum on that matter”.
Miss McIlveen’s motion was resolved.
Commenting on the motion and subsequent debate Andrew Brannigan, Diocesan Youth Officer for Down and Dromore Diocese said: "It is very encouraging to hear politicians from 5 different parties praising the work of Churches across Northern Ireland -particularly in the area of Youth Work. We know from a 2006 report that churches make up over 68% of all registered youth work with 1000's of volunteers working for young people week in and week out. This recognition will mean a lot to volunteer leaders. However I would ask the Minister for Social Development to reconsider her decision not to commission a report on the extent of Church provision in society. This report has the potential to help refocus and re-energize the valuable and extensive contribution of Churches and other Faith groups to the communities around them. The work of volunteers has become under pressure in recent years and this report is needed as a matter of urgency."