Paul Givan has denied DUP “cronyism” over the allocation of £710,000 to a Derry school to upgrade a football pitch to league standards.
The education minister appeared before Stormont’s education committee on Wednesday, where he was grilled on the controversy during an at times heated two-hour session.
The majority of questioning from committee members related to the football pitch at Lisneal College, funding for which was secured without a formal application.
The award was particularly noteworthy because only two schools in Derry city which applied for major funding over the past decade were successful, while both later had their allocation paused.
It was revealed last week that the school’s headmaster met Mr Givan and DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons last June.
The minister rejected accusations from committee chair Nick Mathison that he had used his “influence” to ensure the funding was secured.
“I didn’t bring any influence to bear and the Education Authority confirmed that over the weekend, that there was no influence brought to bear on their decision-making process as a result of my engagement on this particular project,” the minister said.
Sinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan, the committee vice-chair, raised concerns about how applications for funding were prioritised.
Mr Sheehan said for Mr Givan’s party, the DUP “it is beginning to smack of cronyism.”
Mr Givan responded “it’s not”, and pointed out he has visited nearly 150 schools from all sectors, as well as saying there are several members of Mr Sheehan’s party, Sinn Fein, on the board of the EA.
Mr Givan said that the school in question was being “victimised” by a number of committee members.
The minister said the Education Authority employed factors that included health and safety and safeguarding. He urged the Sinn Féin MLA to enquire about the matter with his own party’s members on the quango’s board.
Afterwards , Mr Sheehan told The Irish News that Mr Givan was “not interested in answering important questions”.
“The decision by the Education Authority (EA) to allocate over £700,000 for a state-of-the-art pitch upgrade, while many schools struggle with basic necessities, raises serious questions about how funding is allocated,” he said.
Alliance MLA Michelle Guy said the minister adopted an approach similar to when he was questioned on the matter in the assembly earlier this week.
“This is not about any specific school and there is no reflection on them, but the best way to get openness and transparency about the wider issue is for the minister to be forthcoming about every aspect of it, which did not appear to happen today,” she said.
SDLP MLA Cara Hunter rejected the minister’s claim, insisting members were “merely asking for clarity and transparency on public funding through the Education Authority that will go to this pitch”.
The East Derry representative also referred to the minister’s controversial pre-Christmas appointment of DUP colleague Mervyn Storey as chair of the Education Authority, afterwards describing it as “the latest in a long line of incidents since Paul Givan became Education Minister that call his judgement into question”.
