Education officials have insisted proper processes were followed amid a growing row over a £710k funding allocation to a school in Derry without a formal application being made.
Earlier this week the Belfast Telegraph revealed the grant was awarded to Lisneal College for a football pitch following a private meeting with DUP ministers.
This newspaper previously reported that all bar two schools in the city that had applied for major funding over the past decade were turned down – and both successful schools’ allocations were subsequently paused.
A major works programme is one costing in excess of £500,000, according to the Department of Education website.
The Department of Education had said the pitch is a “minor work” that can be approved “outside of formal calls”.
The artificial grass sports surface opposite Lisneal College (Martin McKeown)
Several MLAs have called on Education Minister Paul Givan to explain the situation, with questions set to be tabled at the Assembly.
In a statement late on Friday night, the Education Authority said it wanted to “clarify the position as regards repair work to the football pitch at Lisneal College”.
“Contrary to what has been suggested, we would emphasise that normal minor capital works procedures have been applied to this project,” it said.
“In particular, this project was not a response to a funding application, nor was it influenced by any recent discussions.”
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It said that in any year, many minor capital projects are taken forward across the education estate to address issues for the benefit of children and young people.
“In this context, on an annual basis, the Department of Education issues the Education Authority with an annual other/minor capital allocation,” it explained.
“In 2024/25 EA received a budget of £29m to progress the delivery of many hundreds of such projects. In terms of scale, projects range in value from tens of thousands of pounds to many hundreds of thousands of pounds. The value of the work at Lisneal College is typical of a project of this nature.”
The money, earmarked for a Northern Ireland Football League standard pitch at Lisneal, has caused controversy.
The £710k sum was approved following a private meeting between the school’s principal Michael Allen and DUP members including Mr Givan, Gordon Lyons and Gary Middleton.
Education Minister Paul Givan
The chair of Stormont’s education committee, Nick Mathison, said: “We need clarity around this decision, and I will be submitting an urgent two-day question to the minister asking him to explain his rationale for making it.”
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason said she has met with school leaders in her South Down constituency who are “desperately pleading” with the department to carry out even the most basic repairs to their schools.
“There must be full transparency and full accountability in the allocation of scarce public funds,” she said.
However, the EA said a health and safety inspection at Lisneal in December 2019 identified that the football pitch needed replaced and was deemed a priority project due to risk of serious injury. The pitch has been out of operation since that time.
“A feasibility report was then conducted in May 2022 and a Business Case submitted in June 2022. Planning permission approval was received in November 2023 and a construction tender was awarded in December 2024. This is the normal timeline for such projects,” it added.