Health Minister accused of 'twisting truth' over rape centre

A dispute over the funding of the Belfast Rape Crisis Centre (BRCC) deepened further today after the head of the centre accused Health Minister Bairbre de Brun of "twisting the truth and hiding behind civil servants".

The furore broke after it was revealed that the BRCC was not in line for funding this year as the health department claimed that a funding application had not been received before the deadline.

As it stands, Eileen Calder said the centre would "not be able to go on", and claimed that the financial situation was now so bad that staff had not received a pay cheque for two months and volunteers had not yet been compensated for their expenses. She described as "paltry and pathetic" the £32,000 budget the agency operated on last year.

She went on to accuse the minister of taking a "partitionist" view of the problem.

"I think that as a republican woman, she has taken a very, very partitionist view of an issue which effects all of Ireland. We are the poorest rape crisis centre in Ireland," she said.

In the assembly yesterday, the Health Minister flatly denied that the BRCC had been ignored over funding proposals and shifted the blame for a mix up in this year's funding application to the agency itself.

Ms de Brun said: “The Belfast Rape Crisis Centre has only today, made an application to my department for funding for the current financial year, some 11 months after the period to receive applications opened."

The minister said that the department had supported the organisation with additional funding of £11,000 last year – of which £6,500 was to assist in the preparation of a business plan.

That business plan, said Ms de Brun, had not yet been received from the centre either. She added that the centre has received funding since 1989 and so should be "aware of the necessary procedures in place to apply for funding”.

However, Ms Calder rejected that version of events, saying: "The application was sent in time, they said they didn't receive it. We then worked with the management committee on a revised application that was also sent to them and the business plan is now with them as well. I think that some of things that have been said, have been slightly twisted and are not entirely honest," she said.

During the assembly debate a motion was passed calling on the Health Minister and the NIO to provide adequate funding to ensure the long-term future of the Rape Crisis Centre.

The UUP's Dr Esmond Birnie also questioned why the health department was not providing at regional level the services which the Centre offers on an independent basis.

(GMcG)