West Belfast Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Tallaght group to meet West Belfast DPP members

Published: 11 October, 2009

A group of community representatives and members of An Garda Siochana from Dublin's Tallaght area will be in West Belfast this week for a visit organised by the West Belfast District Policing Partnership.

The delegation will be hosted by members of the West Belfast DPP and will hear from a host of different groups performing vital work in West Belfast, including the Belfast Conflict Resolution Consortium, Suicide Awareness, the West Belfast Community Safety Forum and Community Restorative Justice.

The visit is the follow on from a West Belfast DPP visit to Tallaght in May this year.

The group from Tallaght will also be given a guided tour of West Belfast as part of their visit.

Ballymurphy Sinn Fein councillor Maire Cush, who is a member of the West Belfast District Policing Partnership, said:

''We are delighted to welcome the delegation from our capital city who are coming up to West Belfast this week.

''Members of the West Belfast DPP, including myself, visited Tallaght in May, and strong links are being developed.

''For too long institutions and organisations in the North of Ireland have looked east and forgot that this country has thirty-two counties, not six.

''This has to change and we hope that the delegation of community representatives and members of An Garda Siochana will gain from listening to the experiences of community leaders from West Belfast who provide a great service in suicide awareness, in interface work and on community safety issues.

''We have learnt from the Tallaght delegation about their experiences and the great work they do in their areas.

''This is a good initiative and part of changing policing and the relationship between the police and the community.''