|TOP|There has been an uproar this week as the government announced that £33 million is to be invested into deprived Protestant areas of Northern Ireland.

A number of Nationalist politicians expressed their absolute objection to the funds being given.

The government, which has made the proposals as part of an anti-depravation action plan, is hoping the funds can be used to improve educational achievement in Protestant working class areas.

Thirteen of the fifteen electoral wards in Ulster, which are recorded as having the worst educational facilities are predominantly Protestant. The new deal was introduced by the Northern Ireland Social Development Minister, David Hanson.

However, Alban Maginness, who is an assembly member for the moderate nationalist SDLP, spoke out saying that funding should not be offered by religion.

|AD|Maginness said, “The facts of deprivation in Protestant areas are irrefutable and no one seriously questions the need for funding to counter it. But it is important that funding is openly allocated on the basis of need and need only, rather than denomination.”

Nevertheless, Maginness admitted that there was obvious evidence to show that educational attainment was low among Protestants, but he also added that 20 percent more Roman Catholic children left school with absolutely no qualifications at all.

The Democratic Unionist Party MP for north Belfast, Nigel Dodds said, “For years, nationalists have sought to portray themselves as the only community with socio-economic problems. They are always more than happy whenever special attention is given to nationalist and republican areas to the exclusion of unionists.”