DUP ministers can control their grants after all

Some £230,000 of funding was allocated to LGBT groups by the now defunct Department for Social Development in the years 2011 '“ 2015.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Aug 2016, 19:12 BST
Updated 17th Aug 2016, 20:20 BST

The same department further awarded a grant of £6,000 to Belfast Pride in August 2015 in relation to the annual gay pride parade in Belfast.

Mr Nelson McCausland and Mr Mervyn Storey were the DUP ministers responsible for DSD during this period and therefore ultimately responsible for the administration of this funding.

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It is my understanding that Mr Storey is a Free Presbyterian elder. When challenged about this apparent complicity in the funding of sodomite organisations and parades the standard DUP response has been to deny any personal responsibility of the ministers concerned and to state that the minister has no involvement in the allocation of funds to specific groups.

In light of this it was very interesting to read the report carried in the News Letter (July 9 2016) concerning the reinstatement of funding for marching bands by DUP minister Paul Givan.

It was abundantly evident from reading the report that Mr Givan, as Minister for Communities, and his party were delighted to take credit for restoring the much needed funding previously cut by a SF/IRA minister.

One wonders how Mr Givan is able to directly intervene to allocate funding to specific groups when previous DUP ministers claimed to be unable to exercise such authority over their departments. Of course the argument that a minister does not have full responsibility for the work of his department including the distribution of funding is simply not true.

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It was only ever a spurious attempt to try and explain away the involvement of the DUP and particularly Free Presbyterian elders in the funding of those engaged in a sinful and wicked lifestyle. Sadly it would appear that many within the Free Presbyterian church have accepted the feeble excuses offered by the DUP as justification for such shameful compromise.

At least this would appear to be the case given the total lack of response from the Moderator, Presbytery and the vast majority of FP ministers to the involvement of members and elders in the administration of this funding.

I can only ask these men, is your loyalty to the DUP such that you are prepared to tolerate the funding, promotion and support of that which is described in the Bible as an “abomination”?

Richard Ferguson, Dollingstown

Related topics:DUPMervyn StoreyPaul Givan