Grant decision has angered residents claims Padraig McShane

INDEPENDENT Councillor Padraig McShane issued a statement following the meeting in which he again hit out what he claimed was the lack of consistency in the allocation of funds for the Bands Forum with an address in Moyle, yet at least fifty percent of its members coming from outside the area in neighbouring Ballymoney.

He said: “Moyle District Council decided this month to award these and several other bands (ten in all) for their input to the local community.

A Loyalist Bands Forum applied for funding for a seeding grant. The forum is made up of five bands residing in Moyle plus another five from Ballymoney!”

Councillor McShane added: “No matter how uncomfortable we feel, under legislation, groups must be allowed to gain access to public funds in an equal an honest process. Until Monday night, Moyle did exactly that.

“Three years previous, an under age hurling tournament was denied access to funds because one of the teams resided outside Moyle. The decision was correct.

“A criterion informs that we invest our funds in Moyle. Those criteria have neither been reviewed nor altered. The decision therefore to fund a group with 50 percent of its makeup residing outside Moyle should never have been approved.

“I was on my own when I protested the anomaly with no colleague providing a rational for their decision to support the funding application.

“I doubt the grant will see the deficiencies of the local heroes diminish. The target of their wrath will always be their near neighbours in both Dunloy and Rasharkin.

“May the residents forgive us for promoting this nonsense. The decision has led to extreme anger among many residents in Moyle!”