THE HIGH Court in Belfast has quashed Stormont Minister for Social Development Margaret Ritchie’s decision to axe a conflict-transformation aid scheme for loyalist neighbourhoods.
Mr Justice Morgan ruled she failed to follow proper procedures before announcing an end last year to more than £1 million in funding due to paramilitary violence. The verdict means the three-year programme will continue, and leaves the Minister’s department facing a legal bill in excess of £300,000.
The SDLP Minister stopped the Conflict Transformation Initiative in October 2007 after the Ulster Defence Association failed to meet her 60-day ultimatum to end criminality and begin decommissioning.
Amid claims that the Minister acted unlawfully, a member of staff at Farset Youth and Community Development Ltd, an independent body appointed to oversee the project set up under the direct rule regime, sought a judicial review.
The case was brought on the grounds that the Minister failed to consult with Farset before making a decision which would inevitably lead to workers losing their jobs.
It was also alleged she had already made her mind up and took into account an irrelevant consideration of the UDA’s failure to start disarmament. Ms Ritchie’s department said, “The Minister maintains she was right to stop funding the UDA-linked project at that time and would take the same decision again.”