Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“In April the Sinn Fein controlled Department of Communities announced a £500,000 hardship fund which would provide £2,000 grants to sports clubs and organisations to assist with essential overheads and the cost of maintaining their facilities during the pandemic. Concerns were expressed to me that the GAA had obtained more than their fair share of the fund so I submitted a written question asking for a list of the successful clubs and organisations.
“Of the 283 clubs and organisations which successfully applied to the fund, 89 were GAA clubs. To put that in context, just three hockey clubs, six rugby clubs, six golf clubs and eleven bowling clubs were successful in applying to the fund. More GAA clubs obtained money than football, rugby, bowling, hockey and golf clubs combined.
“Interestingly, no fewer than three of the GAA clubs which made successful applications are named after notorious defender of slavery John Mitchel. Should public money really be used to fund clubs which continue to celebrate a man who founded a newspaper to advocate for “the value and virtue of slavery, both for negroes and white men”? On the one hand, Sinn Fein claim to support the cause of the Black Lives Matter movement while at the same time a Sinn Fein controlled department was writing cheques to GAA clubs which immortalise one of the most notorious racists in Irish history.
“On the wider issue of the fund, there is a need to fundamentally review how this money was distributed and why GAA clubs have been much more successful in applying than other sports.”
Note to editors
Mr Allister’s question and the Minister’s answer is online here.