SDLP MLA Colum Eastwood.
Culture Minister Caral Ní Chuilín has failed to deliver on “key promises” for Derry’s City of Culture legacy, local SDLP MLA Colum Eastwood has claimed.
Mr Eastwood challenged the minister to explain why her department had not delivered on a series of commitments she made last November to secure a “fruitful legacy” to Derry’s City of Culture year.
Mr Eastwood was speaking after it was revealed no money had been made available to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure for the City of Culture legacy in 2014.
He said: “The Minister failed to make a bid to the Executive for the funding needed for legacy projects in the January monitoring round, and was refused an application for £5.6m in the June monitoring round.”
Mr Eastwood has now called on the minister to explain why no bid was made to fund key legacy projects in January before the impasse on welfare reform impacted on the Executive’s budget and drastically restricted allocations to departments in the June monitoring round.
He added: “In November last year, Minister Ni Chuilín set out a ‘strategic direction’ for the legacy which involved the creation of a dedicated company to deliver cultural-based projects in Derry and the establishment of a ‘permanent’ DCAL North West office in the city to build on the benefits of 2013.
Culture Minister Carál NÍ Chuilín.
“The fact that these have not come to fruition has been met with dismay in the city.
“The minister announced to much fanfare in the Gasyard that she was in the city to ‘reassure’ everybody that her department had a plan.
“A large part of that plan hinged on securing funding from the Executive but, in fact, she failed to even submit a bid for money to back the project in the January monitoring round.
“Midway through the legacy year she had finally prepared the application promised back in November, but was refused funding in the June monitoring round.
“Responding to Assembly Questions last year, the minister committed to establishing a City of Culture Legacy company limited by guarantee and a DCAL North West office in the city during the 2013-14 financial year.
“However, there is still no such legacy delivery body in place while the contact address given for the so-called DCAL North West Office today is Causeway Exchange, Bedford Street in Belfast which certainly doesn’t marry with the minister’s promise of a ‘permanent resource based in Derry.”
Mr Eastwood concluded: “Where does that leave Derry’s City of Culture legacy? We have a plan, but no money to deliver it due to inaction on the part of our culture minister and her department. The people of Derry are fed up with glitzy announcements of investment with no delivery to back them up.”
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