A SINN FEIN MLA and government minister has predicted that the peace walls that separate Protestant and Catholic communities in the North of Ireland will come down within seven years.
Megan Fearon MLA told a community festival in north Belfast, which has 16 'Peace Lines', about the the plans.
She said: "By removing a peace wall we open a door to a new shared space and I believe we should be ambitious in our efforts.
"Reconciliation has been hampered by physical divisions so to help build a truly shared, united and reconciled community, we need to put in place the conditions and circumstances to remove these structures."
'Peace Lines' are a mixture of traditional walls, fences and gates. They were erected to prevent violence during the 30 year conflict but the walls still remain even though the conflict ended with the Good Friday agreement.
According to figures released from the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland, 50 barriers - 39 walls and 11 gates - are still in place.
Structures stretch for miles and can be up to 18 feet high.
The areas which are affected by these structures were mostly ones most affected by sectarian tension but also included areas like Lurgan in Armagh.
The Minister was speaking on a cross party panel at the community festival where she called on all communities effected to show 'courage' in this process.
She said: "It takes courage to engage on such difficult issues, but the courage that many in the community have shown, and continue to show on a daily basis, can and will change our society for the better. Progress is being made."
*There was a correction made to this story on August 11. The original story stated that some peace walls are 18 miles high, it has now been corrected to feet.
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