The Ulster Farmers' Union has welcomed the decision by Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew to retain the Communications Course at the Loughry Campus, Cookstown.

UFU President Kenneth Sharkey said; "This is the right decision by the Minister. The Communication Course is delivering a successful educational and development service to many people in rural areas, through the Loughry Campus which itself is in a rural district.

We appreciate that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, like all Government Departments, have cost efficiencies to make. However we consistently stated that cost savings should not be made at the expense of valuable front line services; education and training in the agri-food sector is an important aspect of this.

We will continue to urge the Department to find savings in other ways, most notably by reducing bureaucracy".

The UFU says it was approached in recent months by a number of the students directly affected by the potential course closure. The Union subsequently raised it's concerns about the closure with DARD.