Frustration at lack of council funding for Omagh organisations

FERMANAGH and Omagh District Council has come under fire after no community organisations in Omagh received funding from the council’s £200,000 Grant Aid programme.

At the recent meeting of the Regeneration and Community Committee, it was revealed that all applications from Omagh were rejected, including those from Omagh St Enda’s and Omagh Community House, after they failed to meet the required 65 per-cent scoring threshold.

Cllr Barry McElduff expressed frustration over the outcome,.

“I’m very concerned about the Omagh DEA. This is not the first time that project applications from this area have been disallowed, leaving the entire DEA without successful bids. What does that tell us? Are the groups being supported?” he asked.

Highlighting the St Enda’s application, which scored 54 per-cent, Cllr McElduff continued: “This project focused on disabled access in a community hub that welcomes up to 250,000 people annually. It’s in an area of multiple deprivation, yet it didn’t make the cut.”

Head of service for the committee, Kieran McCrory, said that the application process is ‘extremely competitive’, and that out of 62 applications, only 13 were successful.

He added: “We have mandatory workshops explaining the application process and the dedicated support of our community development officers in Omagh. We are mitigating issues as best we can, but ultimately, applications must meet the 65 per-cent criteria.”

John McKinney, chair of Omagh Community House, expressed disappointment but remains hopeful.

“We are disappointed not to have received funding, but discussions are ongoing, and we are exploring other council funding opportunities,” he said.