§ Mr. TrimbleTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the members of the Rural Development Council; and what criteria were employed to select the most deprived rural areas for the purposes of the rural development initiative.
§ Mr. HanleyThe membership of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Council is as follows:
Jimmy Armstrong
- Executive Chairman
Pat Jess
- Open University Lecturer
John Kelly
- Lending Manager, Allied Irish Bank
Aideen McGinley
- Member of Community Development Review Group
Patsy McShane
- Chief Executive, Workspace (Draperstown) Ltd.
Malcolm Woods
- Chief Executive, Leckpatrick Holdings Ltd.
Robert Hanna
- Deputy Chairman, Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC)
Mark Conway
- Chairman, Rural Community Network
John Donaghy
- Chairman, Omagh Forum for Community Associations
Paul McAllister
442W
- Chairman, Glens of Antrim Rural and Community Development Association
John McGrady
- Member of Rural Community Network
John Fee
- Newry and Mourne District Council
Warren Loane
- Fermanagh District Council
Malachy McSparran
- Moyle District Council
Hugh Linehan
- Vice President, Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU)
Wilfred Mitchell
- Chairman, Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers' Association (NIAPA)
The most deprived rural areas of Northern Ireland—West Fermanagh, the Sperrins, the western shore of Lough Neagh, South Armagh/South Down and the glens of Antrim/Rathlin—were identified by the interdepartmental committee on rural development—IDCRD—after the application of combinations of standard criteria used to assess social and economic need, including geographic and social isolation, high unemployment, demographic imbalances, declining services and poor facilities. The IDCRD also established that pockets of deprivation can be isolated in most rural areas on a ward or townland basis.