Lisneal College in Derry has been at the centre of a funding row in recent weeks over the allocation of £710k for a state-of-the-art pitch without the need for an application.
Here, 10 questions are answered about what happened.
What is the origin of the Lisneal story?
Following a Freedom of Information request, the Belfast Telegraph discovered that no school in Derry city was awarded major capital funding for at least a 10-year period.
Major works were defined as those above £500,000 on the Education Department’s website – until last week when it was hastily changed.
How did Lisneal College come into it?
This newspaper discovered that Lisneal College was awarded £710,000 for a new football pitch which exceeded what was at the time of writing classed as a major work.
When were minor works allowed to exceed £500k?
Along with the Education Department and Education Authority’s websites, in an FoI response the Department of Education (DE) stated that major works were those in excess of £500,000.
The department only claimed that it had changed that limit when questioned about Lisneal being awarded £710,000 for a ‘minor’ work.
But the DE website was only updated after the story was published and no figure replaced it online. Principals have also told this newspaper they still believed the minor works limit was £500k.
But, Minister Paul Givan claims that it changed as far back as 2017 and the EA has delegated authority for projects up to £1m – although the EA website still states “where the construction costs are less than £500k (excluding VAT)”.
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What is minor works funding?
According to the Education Authority’s website, minor capital works are prioritised according to greatest need – for example, meeting statutory compliance, roofs over heads, health and safety and disabled facilities.
Do you have to apply for Minor Works funding?
Yes. It says so in a Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report titled Managing the Schools’ Estate. Importantly, those reports have to be approved by the departments being scutinised.
The last call was in 2017 and was a joint online approach by the Department and the EA. Over 6,100 applications were received from schools across all sectors. They were assessed, scored and prioritised in line with a defined protocol and existing ministerial priorities.
This didn’t happen in the case of Lisneal.
Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan (Liam McBurney/PA)
The Nolan Show revealed that St Joseph’s School got £587k for a new pitch. Is that the same?
St Joseph’s is a completely different scenario to Lisneal.
St Joseph’s pupils were playing on a gravel pitch that dates back to the 1960s.
When a new school opened at St Joseph’s in 2003, this modern facility did not include a new or even refurbished all-weather pitch.
It’s also understood, based on a document this newspaper has seen, that a number of pitch inspections were carried out over that time and applications were lodged for a replacement pitch but refused.
The school deemed it a real health and safety risk but a new pitch was not opened until 2023 – a full 20 years after the new school opened.
Therefore, it is not comparing like for like as Lisneal pupils have had access to a 3G pitch since their school opened in 2007, with the principal confirming that point on the BBC.
When did the meeting take place at Parliament Buildings and who was involved?
A meeting took place on 6 June 2024. DUP Ministers Paul Givan and Gordon Lyons were in attendance, along with Foyle MLA Gary Middleton and Lisneal principal Michael Allen. A Maiden City Soccer coach was also in attendance as the club shares the pitch with the school and runs an academy from there.
Officials were also present from DE and the Communities Department.
Michael Allen
What was discussed?
Minutes show that, among other issues, attendees discussed how “the pitch is 17 years old and the floodlights (previously installed by EA) are broken.
Mr Allen, the school principal, has also acknowledged that he raised the matter of the pitch telling the BBC: While he couldn’t recall the exact details, he said: “I would imagine it was along the lines of, ‘look this pitch, we’ve been told we were getting a pitch now for X amount of time and nothing seems to be happening’.
“But it wasn’t a case of, it was, here’s our situation, it wasn’t a case of will you please interject on our behalf.”
When was funding awarded?
Funding was said to have been approved by EA in October 2024, despite the department claiming that Minister Givan wrote to the school saying that the project was being put “on hold” in August 2024. That letter has not been shared with the Belfast Telegraph.
Any U-turns or changes from Education Authority and Department?
The Education Authority put a statement online after 11pm on the day the story was published.
It claimed the Lisneal College pitch was a health and safety risk and had been out of action since 2019.
EA then had to retract as it was obvious the pitch had been used continually since 2019 by both pupils and the local academy. Pictures shared online by the school show that pupils even had bike lessons on the 3G pitch.
DE and EA have never explained why, if the pitch was deemed to pose a risk of ‘serious injury’, children were allowed to continue playing on it for six years.
After two gruelling sessions in front of the Assembly and Committee, Mr Givan made no mention of a letter to Lisneal and said all questions should be directed to EA.
Then, out of the blue on February 9, the department said that Mr Givan had personally written to the school to say that the project was “on hold” due to budget constraints.
The department has refused to explain why that vital piece of information was omitted from the Minister’s evidence at Assembly and Committee.