17 per cent of pensioners are living in poverty in Rosslea, according to figures from a poverty conference organised by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council this week. Across Northern Ireland statistics are collected on 890 different geographical areas with Rosslea fourth highest of the 890 in terms of pensioners living in poverty.

The conference also revealed that the average wage in the district is 12 per cent lower than the Northern Ireland average while Lauri McCusker, of Fermanagh Trust, one of the keynote speakers at the conference said that society collectively “can do much better” to tackle poverty.

Held at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh “The struggle is real: Living on the poverty line – a call to action” conference brought together delegates from the statutory, community and voluntary sectors and elected representatives.

The aim of the conference was to identify ways to work together to tackle poverty and its impact on communities at a local level.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council data analyst, Alan Mitchell, shared a presentation with those in attendance. In it he outlined the average wage in Northern Ireland as being £26,000 but that in the Fermanagh Omagh District it was £23,000 which was 12 per cent less.

Mr Mitchell revealed that 17 per cent of people in Northern Ireland and one in five people in Fermanagh and Omagh are living in relative poverty.

The Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Siobhán Currie said the conference was designed to be evidence driven and solution based.

“This conference was a call to action to address the problems for those living on or below the poverty line.

“While we were not going to eradicate poverty today, what we can and must do, is to collectively seek to address some of the contributory factors to living in poverty and to bring organisations together to support the most vulnerable in our community to move out of poverty and to lead lives which allow them to reach their potential.”

Delegates heard from a number of speakers about the reality of poverty, initiatives that aim to reduce poverty and good practice and solution focused approaches to ending poverty. Speakers and contributions were from Advice NI; Ardess Share Foodbank; Belfast Food Network; Children in Northern Ireland; Department for Communities; Christ the King Primary School, Omagh; Fermanagh and Omagh Community Planning Partnership; Fermanagh and Omagh District Council; The Fermanagh Trust; Trussell Trust NI; and Ulster University.

Speaking at the conference, the Fermanagh Trust’s Director Lauri McCusker emphasised the need to focus on sources of poverty & address the root causes. “Locally businesses, the public sector and civic society organisations must join the dots and work collaboratively to build an inclusive successful local economy.

Our research has identified how legislation, policies & resources along with some smart thinking is needed over the next five to ten years. We can do much better.”

Two new poverty themed initiatives for the Fermanagh and Omagh area were also launched at the conference.

The ‘Enhancing Children’s Right 2 Food in Schools’ is a pilot initiative which will involve Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and Fermanagh and Omagh Community Planning Partnership working with primary and post primary schools with a Free School Meals Eligibility over a 40 per cent threshold to enable them to increase free access to nutritional food and snacks. This initiative is supportive of the principles set out in the ‘Children’s Right to Food Charter’.

Support towards the development of ‘Social Supermarkets’ within Fermanagh and Omagh was also announced. This initiative, with financial assistance from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and the Public Health Agency, will see the Fermanagh and Omagh Community Planning Partnership support three foodbanks from the area who have expressed an interest in developing towards a ‘Social Supermarket’.