Lord Laird, chairman of the Ulster-Scots Agency, one of the North-South bodies of the Belfast Agreement, has resigned in protest claiming that the Irish and British governments were discriminating against the body.
Lord Laird claimed in particular that £600,000 was especially earmarked to fund cultural events during this year's Orange marching season but that it was withdrawn.
In a letter to the North-South Ministerial Council, he said he wanted his resignation to "spotlight the political implications of the rising tide of frustration at the way the movement has been treated".
He said the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) in the North and the Irish Government were failing to meet their Belfast Agreement pledge to support the agency. He argued that its work was vital as it encouraged loyalists, who could be embroiled in summer trouble, into peaceful cultural events.
Lord Laird said he supported the promotion of the Irish language but that it was clear that Ulster Scots was being discriminated against while Irish received substantially greater financial support. "Officialdom seems to think there is not room for another cultural identity on this island," he said.
A spokesman for the DCAL said the agency received £1.7 million for 2004, an increase of almost 11 per cent on 2003. He said it was wrong for Lord Laird to say £600,000 was taken from the agency to support cultural events during the marching season, as it was never agreed to allocate the money in the first place.
The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Ó Cuív, and DCAL Minister, Ms Angela Smith, commended Lord Laird for his work for the agency.
