SDLP leader Colum Eastwood says Communities minister Paul Givan should come clean on exactly who shall benefit from a £1.9m community hall grant scheme.
The Foyle MLA said a breakdown of recipients was “imperative”, given that the scheme risked excluding sporting organisations including the GAA.
Last October, the programme was launched in an Orange Hall by Paul Givan and his party leader Arlene Foster.
The funding was £500,000, but that figure has nearly quadrupled to £1.9m.
On Friday, Mr Givan said 90 organisations would be funded. In an unusual step for a government press release, the deputy district master of Sixmilewater Orange Lodge, William Strange was quoted.
He said the funding was “a great boost for our hall and the local community.”
On Saturday, Mr Strange told the BBC that his Orange Hall, Tildarg – which dates from 1873 – and is near Ballyclare, would receive £24,700 under the scheme.
He said the money would be used to install new toilets that can be used by the disabled, a new kitchen, a new heating system, and insulation.
However. the SDLP leader said his party had concerns from the time that this fund was opened.
“It seemed, at that stage, that the criteria meant that GAA clubs could not apply,” he said. “We were worried that the minister was trying to look after one community rather than the whole community.”
Mr Eastwood called on the communities minister to make things clear.
“He appears to be a minister for half of the community, he has not done much to illustrate that he is a minister for everyone,” he said.
“The DUP needs to produce a list of who has benefited and to explain why there were no financial controls put in place to ensure it did not go so far over funding.”
When it was originally launched, the first minister said the money would be used to improve halls that were in disrepair or had been damaged – with priority given to those targeted in attacks or by anti-social behaviour.
Minister Paul Givan
At Christmas, Mr Givan cut funds to a scheme offering Irish language scholarships to young people.
Martin McGuinness said the £50,000 cut was part of the reason for quitting as deputy first minister.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams called Mr Givan an “ignoramus” for cutting the bursary.
Last week, Mr Givan said he had identified the “identified the necessary funding to advance” the Líofa Gaeltacht Bursary Scheme.
He also claimed his original decision was not “political”.
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