SOUTH Belfast community group LORAG has hit back at the BBC over claims that it covered up exploitation of the Roma community.
And the award-winning South Belfast body, which runs the Shaftesbury Recreation Centre and has been praised for its work with migrants, says it is seeking legal advice over the allegations broadcast by the Nolan Show on Radio Ulster before Christmas.
LORAG was responding to a claim by former employee Denis Long that she had informed her managers in LORAG that Roma people seeking advice from the Romanian Roma Community Association for Northern Ireland (RRCANI) were being charged for advice services. Ms Long resigned from her LORAG post with RRCANI in October 2016. Trust services to the Roma community were led on the ground by Community Development Officer Stephen Long, a former Sinn Féin election candidate, who is married to Denis Long.
“We reject the claim that was broadcast on the Nolan show,” said LORAG in a statement. “LORAG had previously told the BBC Nolan Show that the first we became aware of an allegation of charging by RRCANI through a conversation on or about 23 May 2018 with Belfast Health and Social Care Trust officials.”
LORAG add: “We were funded from June 2015 to March 2018 to provide mentoring and capacity-building support to RRCANI, in partnership with other agencies. At no time during the funding period was any allegation of charging by RRCANI made to LORAG by any of the other partners or by any LORAG staff member.”
It is believed that LORAG had regular reports submitted by Denis Long to the Board of the oganisation during her employment but that they fail to mention allegations of charging by RRCANI.
The community group say they have “placed the matter in the hands of our solicitors to seek a legal remedy”.
It is believed LORAG is seeking a meeting with the Belfast Trust over a note in a Trust document which says LORAG knew of the charging allegations.
“LORAG never made any such comment to the Trust and we have already been in contact to ensure the record is put straight,” said LORAG Chairperson John Gormley.
Belfast Trust relocated early-years services from the RRCANI premises in May 2018.
In reference to the note in the Trust document that said LORAG knew about the charging allegations, a spokesperson for Belfast Trust yesterday said: “The Trust acknowledges that this comment made in an internal email was not an accurate reflection of the meeting. We are liaising with LORAG to clarify this misunderstanding.”