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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Donal McMahon

Somme 'junket' fears sees council cut budget for annual pilgrimage

Somme LCCC Lisburn

A Northern Ireland council’s ‘Somme pilgrimage’ has been downsized amid concerns it is seen as a ‘junket’ or ‘holiday’ for councillors.

The memorial service to remember Allied soldiers killed in World War I (1914-18) takes place each July in Northern France.

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) had agreed in 2015 to send a maximum of eight councillors and supporting staff members to the remembrance service. In 2019, LCCC spent £11,808 and in 2022 an amount of £8,402 on sending a total of 10 delegates to the Thiepval Memorial. There were no visits in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.

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