Paul Givan: I've been vindicated by equality report

Former Stormont deputy first minister Martin McGuinness said the £50,000 reduction by the DUP minister to the Liofa scheme was one of the reasons he resigned early last year, triggering the collapse of the assembly.

The Equality Commission has investigated two programmes run by the Department of Communities; the formation of the Liofa bursary scheme for Irish language study trips - created under a Sinn Fein minister - and the development of a community halls programme under minister Mr Givan, a DUP MLA.

The commission’s report said that the department itself did not carry out the necessary equality assessments during the formation of the schemes.

The community halls programme was launched by Mr Givan at an Orange Hall and Sinn Fein claimed it was directed at one side of the community. The commission reported this week that 53% of applications turned out to be from organisations which were perceived to be Protestant.

In respect of the Liofa bursary scheme, the commission found that officials made a submission to Mr Givan in December 2016 for a decision on the funding options, but that “no equality assessment information was included for the minister’s consideration”.

The department told the commission it did not undertake equality screening before the launch of the community halls programme in October 2016, due to an administrative error.

Mr Givan told BBC Good Morning Ulster that the commission’s report vindicates his own personal position.

“At the time there were outrageous claims made, particularly by Sinn Fein representatives, that my decision was discriminatory and now the evidence trail demonstrates completely contrary to all of that. So I want to welcome that finding,” he said.

Mr Givan said the advice provided to him at the time by officials was that equality guidelines were not applicable. He said that if Sinn Fein had set it up in “a more collegiate way” when establishing the scheme “then there wouldn’t have been the controversy”.

However, Sinn Féin chairman Declan Kearney rejected Mr Givan’s assertion that his position was vindicated, accusing the DUP of a “cavalier approach” to the administration of public funds. He said that the Liofa scheme did not require an equality assessment when it was set up in 2011 as it was “not a sectional program”.

He accused Mr Givan of “ruling by fooling” and said that the wider community needs to be convinced that there will be no “institutionalised bigotry” in relation to how public funds are distributed in any future executive.