Irish government ready to pull plug on loyalist funding

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/irish-government-ready-to-pull-plug-on-loyalist-funding/a1121122070.html

The Irish government is set to call time on the “shocking” level of funding for loyalist paramilitary-linked community groups in Belfast.
Bosses from the International Fund for Ireland, which in the past two years has provided £1.6m in donations to four UVF and UDA-backed charities in the city, are being asked to appear before a powerful committee to account for the huge handouts.

Among the organisations to receive six-figure sums is one formerly headed by UVF chief Winkie Irvine, who is currently before the courts on firearms charges which he denies.

The Irish government funding crackdown comes just days after UVF thugs on Belfast’s Shankill Road carried out a sickening punishment-style attack on a vulnerable man.

The 35-year-old, whose identity is known to Sunday Life, was dumped on Azamor Street with broken arms, fractured legs and multiple cuts to his face. His ‘crime’ was to verbally clash with UVF leaders outside the Rex Bar following the funeral of a close relative.

Appealing for information, a PSNI spokeswoman said: “Horrific violence has been inflicted on this man that will leave physical and mental scars and trauma that may never heal.”

The Azamor Street assault makes a mockery of claims from the UVF that it is transitioning away from criminality, and the need for the British and Irish governments to pump millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into community projects it supports.

The timing of the attack could not have been worse as it will only intensify calls for the Irish government to bring to a halt loyalist paramilitary-linked funding.

At a meeting of an Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement last Thursday, politicians discussed handouts to four Belfast charities from the International Fund for Ireland (IFI).

The committee has contacted the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to seek further information, with a least one TD demanding IFI members appear for questioning.

Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd, who chairs the committee, described the situation as “very concerning”.

He said: “There must be full transparency and accountability because it’s so important that the integrity of the (peace) process is clear to everybody.”

The Louth TD also encouraged the IFI to “engage fully” in ensuring transparency and public confidence are upheld.

Aontu leader Peadar Toibin TD described the IFI funding of loyalist-linked charities as “shocking”.

He added: “Loyalist paramilitarism is a real and current threat to people in the north of Ireland. We should not fund those associated with it.”

The four Belfast-based charities at the centre of the Irish government funding investigation are Concerned Residents of Upper Ardoyne (CRUA), Twaddell/Woodvale Residents’ Association (TWRA), Lower Shankill Community Association (LSCA), and Action for Community Transformation (ACT) Initiative.

The former director of TWRA Winston ‘Winkie’ Irvine is facing firearms charges after a police search of his car in June 2022. He has pleaded not guilty and will go on trial next year. During the summer the prominent loyalist was photographed taking part in a UVF show of strength in east Belfast.

After his arrest in 2022, Irvine continued to serve as director of TWRA until June last year. The charity participated in a partnership with two other loyalist-linked community groups that received £208,399 from the IFI in 2023.

An IFI press release in April of this year announced a further £569,592 for the same partnership.

Irvine, despite being on bail on firearms charges, was also the organiser of a convention on cultural expression last May as part of the Building Cultural Networks project. It received over £900,000 in January 2023 from the IFI, covering a two-year period.

Other trustees of charities receiving Irish state funding have also been involved with paramilitarism and criminality.

Tommy Harrison, who is a director of the ACT Initiative, was pictured in paramilitary regalia at a UVF commemoration last year. The Northern Ireland Executive suspended funding for the charity as a result. IFI funding remains in place.

During the summer Harrison led a 1,000-strong UVF show of strength in east Belfast which was attended by Winkie Irvine.

William Seenan, who is a trustee with the CRUA, which receives IFI funding, was convicted of conspiring to rob a bank official, conspiracy to cause assault and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2006. The raid was linked to the UDA.

The LSCA has counted among its trustees Denis Cunningham, who was jailed for reading a UDA terror statement, and Roy Douglas, who has been investigated by police for UDA drug dealing although not charged.

The Irish Department for Foreign Affairs, which is linked to the IFI, said: “The IFI funds projects, not individuals, and has robust systems in place to scrutinise project proposals and to ensure that funded projects deliver specific outputs that support and encourage peacebuilding activity.”

The IFI was approached for comment and issued an identical statement to that issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs.