Prominent UVF-linked loyalist Winston 'Winkie' Irvine
In a statement at the time, WSCHA said that following a board meeting "Winston Irvine is no longer a board member of the association nor a director in any of the association’s subsidiaries".
He is one of two men arrested in early June by police investigating a hoax bomb alert targeting Irish foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney in north Belfast in March.
"never in all the years of the Troubles did a UVF man stand up in court and claim he was working with the police and think that was a good thing"
30 July, 2022 03:00
A west Belfast housing association whose board previously included leading loyalist Winston 'Winkie' Irvine has been operating without "adequate department scrutiny" for the past five years.
Details about Woodvale and Shankill Community Housing Association (WSCHA) were revealed in a Northern Ireland Audit Office report published this week.
Mr Irvine resigned from the board of the west Belfast housing association last month.
"His resignation from all boards was accepted by the meeting," it added.
He later appeared in court charged with several offences including possession of a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
He has since been released on bail.
The Department for Communities is responsible for the funding, monitoring, regulation and issue of guidance and policy directives to Registered Housing Associations (RHAs).
Issues relating to WSCHA were raised in the Department for Communities Resource Account 2021-22, which was published this week.
The report reveals that since 2017 "annual regulatory assessments have been completed for all of the RHAs, except Woodvale and Shankill Community Housing Association (WSCHA), following legal advice".
The report adds that after whistleblower allegations in 2016 DfC "commissioned a Governance Review of the specific matters raised in respect of WSCHA".
It confirmed that after the review was completed in 2017 a Statutory Inquiry "was launched into the affairs of WSCHA".
The audit office report confirms that the results of this Statutory Inquiry have not been published "as WSCHA subsequently raised a Judicial Review (JR) against the department on a separate issue".
"This JR remains ongoing and the department continues to seek legal advice," it said.
The Charity Commission also launched its own Statutory Inquiry into WSCHA in January 2020, the results of which were recently published.
In the Audit Office report Kieran Donnelly, Comptroller and Auditor General, said: "It is concerning that this RHA has been operating without adequate department scrutiny in the past five years but I welcome the fact that, following further legal advice, a regulatory assessment is underway for 2020-21.
"My staff intend to monitor the position with respect to this RHA closely."
Earlier this month The Charity Commission inquiry report found that WSCHA had submitted draft accounts and an audit report which presented "a false and misleading position".
The documents were submitted for the year ending March 31 2018, even though they were not approved or signed off by the charity's trustees.
The Charity Commission opened an inquiry into the housing association in 2020 amid concerns about potential conflicts of interest and several irregular bank transfers.
With many thanks to: The Irish News and Connla Young for the original publication.
Follow these links to find out more on this story: Concerns over 'Winkie' links to peace cash project
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