Publican-turned-politician: £30k SF Covid fund fiasco ‘a kick in the teeth for struggling traders’

Pat Catney, who used to be a councillor in Lisburn and now sits as an MLA, formerly ran Belfast’s Kitchen Bar.

He has a sister who still runs Brennan’s Bar in the city, employing 30 people, and she has recently been forced to close because of the stepping-up of anti-coronavirus restrictions.

He was reacting to the news, broken by the Nolan Show this week, that three payments of £10,000 each, which were meant only for small businesses, had been paid to SF accounts – and that the cash was only repaid in full after Mr Nolan began asking questions about it.

“I don’t know how they [SF] got the money,” Mr Catney said.

“It just beggars belief. There’s something wrong with the system that this money could be put out.

“This is just another kick in the teeth to hard-working businesses in our country.”

He said a full explanation – which could shed light on how and when Sinn Fein obtained cash which was only meant to go towards small traders – is owed to the public, and that the party needs to “step up to the plate” on this issue.

His party leader Colum Eastwood likewise spoke out.

The MP for Foyle said: “The Small Business Grant Scheme, approved in the Executive by Sinn Fein ministers, was designed to support local employers suffering financial hardship and prevent them from going to the wall.

“For employers across the North, it was a lifeline.

“It is galling that three Sinn Fein offices received a £10,000 support payment, and appear to have done very little about it until they were asked by the media.

“Many businesses and workers across the North have yet to receive a single penny in assistance and they will be rightly furious that a political party, who just last year received a £4m donation, received this money.”

He also raised the issue of how the cash could have found its way to a non-existent constituency office, saying: “Here in Derry, people will be surprised to learn that Elisha McCallion benefited from this financial assistance for her office. Where is that office? Her office address on the Oireachtas website is listed as Leinster House.”

He added: “As joint head of government, Michelle O’Neill regularly engages with small businesses in financial despair. People will rightly wonder how she was able to look them in the eye.”

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