Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SINN FEIN £2M
BY » Questions on links to supported groups
Fein councillors are facing questions over apparent failures to declare interests as part of the allocation of more than £2million of Covid grants to community groups.
Several of the party’s representatives on Belfast City Council have links to the main organisations supported in its emergency pandemic scheme.
But only some with connections declared them when councillors approved a tranche of the funding earlier this year.
It emerges as Sinn Fein pushes for more public money to be diverted to the organisations – bypassing an open tender process.
For the avoidance of any doubt, there is no suggestion or implication any of the councillors referenced are benefitting personally in any way from the alleged failures to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest. The Green Party raised conflict of interest concerns and called for a review to ensure the process is “fair, transparent and accountable”.
At the height of the pandemic, the council set up a process in which Covid support funding has been shared between a small number of community and voluntary groups.
The nine main “strategic community partners” include the Upper Andersonstown Community Forum, which represents five Neighbourhood Renewal Partnerships in West Belfast.
When the dividing up of more than £700,000 was agreed in February, several Sinn Fein councillors did not declare their involvement in these Neighbourhood Renewal groups.
They include Ciaran Beattie, Sinn Fein’s group leader at city hall, who is a member of the Greater Falls Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership.
He works at Blackie River Centre, which is a partner of the Greater Falls group.
Mr Beattie is also a council appointee to the West Belfast Partnership Board, which is one of the community associations in the Upper Andersonstown Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership.
Belfast councillors have been advised any representative involved in an organisation likely to be in
receipt of funding should declare their link and withdraw from the decision-making process.
A further tranche of Covid funding was discussed by councillors behind closed doors at a committee meeting earlier this month.
It is understood the proposal from council officials included awarding £250,000 to the “strategic community partners” and £600,000 to a micro and medium-sized grants scheme open to all applicants.
Sinn Fein sought to boost the community partners’ funding pot to £650,000 by removing £400,000 from the grants programme.
After its proposal was defeated, the party said publicly the plan was to “fund food and heating vouchers” and accused rivals of having a “complete disregard for the very real and tough challenges that face people this winter”.
Sinn Fein has called a special council meeting tomorrow to reconsider its proposal.
It issued a press release putting pressure on political opponents to change their position.
Green Party deputy leader Malachai O’hara said: “There are many serious questions that need asked about the process of funding, how money has been allocated and whether members have appropriately declared their interests. A tough winter lies ahead of us, with escalating fuel prices, cost of living increases and the failure of the Executive parties to keep the Universal Credit uplift.
“Public money spent on alleviating people’s hardship this winter needs to be allocated transparently and fairly.”
Sinn Fein said the Neighbourhood Renewal Partnerships were “not involved in the distribution of funding from this scheme”.
A party spokesman said: “Sinn Fein councillors are frankly dismayed and disappointed that some parties in Belfast City Council are opposed to making £650,000 of council funding [available] to help some of the most vulnerable citizens in the city. The parties opposed to this motion are attempting to engage in deflection from their inexplicable decisions not to assist those most in need.
“Sinn Fein members on the council speaking and voting on this issue do so and have done so in compliance with the Code of Conduct for Councillors.”
A council spokeswoman said: “Declarations of interest are matters that are the personal responsibility of councillors. Section 6 of the Code of Conduct sets out the rules and dispensations.”
Money for alleviating hardship needs to be allocated fairly MALACHAI O’HARA YESTERDAY