PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
IRISH CULTURAL CENTRE IN HAMMERSMITH (17 January 2011)

That this House regrets that Hammersmith and Fulham Council has resiled from its January 2009 agreement to extend the lease on the premises of the Irish Cultural Centre for a further five years from April 2012 to April 2017 and proposes instead to sell the freehold for a proposed 2 million; recognises that the Irish community has always had a strong tie with Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush and believes that Irish culture and history should have a permanent home in the borough; further recognises that the Centre plays an exceptionally important role for the isolated elderly, offering a home and meeting place for a range of immigrant communities; notes the Centre provides an irreplaceable location for voluntary and community sector training, a venue for workshops and shows for performing arts groups, children's and further education classes in the Irish language, traditional music, dancing, drama, film and the only Irish lending library in England; further notes that the thriving Centre is staffed largely by volunteers fulfilling all the expectations of a Big Society local community hub and representing exceptionally good value for the local authority; congratulates the Irish Government and the Irish Embassy in London for their continuing support for the Centre and the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly for recognising the importance of the Hammersmith Centre and for supporting its search for a viable future; and urges the Government to assist the local community in its efforts to secure the long-term future of the Irish Cultural Centre.

Sponsored by:
Andy Slaughter (Labour)