17 March 2006
Government funding of a Loyalist museum in the Shankill area of Belfast has been criticised as 'irregular' in a report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office.
A grant of £98,175 was approved by the Department for Social Development's Making Belfast Work initiative in 2004, three days after it was told that the Fernhill House Museum did not have enough money to pay its salaries for the coming year.
But the auditor has concluded that officials did not go through the proper procedures for so-called 'novel and contentious' funding - which should have been approved by the Department of Finance and Personnel.
Officials had decided that not providing funds for the museum's continuation would send politically damaging signals at a time when government departments were trying to show their support for deprived Loyalist communities.
Auditors concluded that the decision represented 'favourable treatment'.
DSD does not normally fund museums, which are the responsibility of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
The museum, which was established in 1993, has now decided to close.
Officials at the DSD told the auditor that while they accepted that standard procedures were not followed, the criticisms made by the auditor were not valid.
PFmar2006
