Northern Ireland's next Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie tonight faced fresh calls for her to bin plans for a £1.2 million initiative to wean loyalist communities away from paramilitarism.
The SDLP minister was urged to ditch the plan after her party rounded on the Department of Education for bracketing the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force with children's charities in the minutes of a meeting involving school principals.
Cross community Alliance Party councillor Tom Campbell said he shared SDLP Assembly member Dolores Kelly's outrage at the Department of Education gaffe which was disclosed two days ago.
However the Newtownabbey councillor said Ms Ritchie should also stop the funding approved by her Direct Rule predecessor for an Ulster Political Research Group initiative when she takes up her post on May 8th.
"The SDLP rightly criticised the Department of Education for this deplorable debacle and I hope that their party remembers this when Margaret Ritchie takes up the post of Minister for Social Development — the department which has handed out cash to loyalist paramilitaries," he argued.
"Margaret Ritchie must stop cash payments to loyalist paramilitaries and must try to claw back those already made. "They have the opportunity to send out a strong message on this and they must do so.
"Local taxpayers are disgusted that the Government is using their money to pay the UDA to stop its campaign of terror. This must be stopped and after May 8th, the Minister for Social Development can do this."
The Department of Education in Northern Ireland said the reference to the UDA and UVF in its minutes was clumsily written.
Ms Kelly vowed to raise the issue with the Minister for Education. Northern Ireland Office Social Development Minister David Hanson approved last month the plan to give £1.2 million over three years to six projects across Northern Ireland to wean loyalist communities away from paramilitarism into community development.
The project, which was devised in a UPRG business plan submitted to the Government, will be administered by the west Belfast based community organisation, Farset Community Enterprises.
PA