Up to 10 per cent of the European Commission funding for peace initiatives in the North is being wasted on unnecessary running costs, the DUP's Jim Allister claimed today.
Millions of euro from the European Programme for Peace and Reconciliation budget was being spent on office staff, lighting, heating and rent, Mr Allister said.
He was speaking after a discussion document was published outlining ways of distributing Peace III funding.
Up to €134 million has been earmarked for peace building after consultation between the European Commission and the British and Irish governments.
"These valuable funds should not be consumed in such a way and should be allocated to needy communities," Mr Allister said.
The proposals would eliminate a tier of bureaucracy known as intermediatory funding bodies and much of the money would be distributed by the Community Relations Council to grassroots groups.
Sinn Fein opposes using the group because it feels its definition of peacebuilding is too narrow.
Eoin O'Broin from the party's European office said: "We are not criticising the money being granted, we welcome that, but we are objecting to the use of the CRC to distribute the money and the emphasis on the British Government's 'A Shared Future' document on tackling sectarianism.
"We do not have a problem with community groups applying separately for funding but we believe this mechanism of distributing the money has a narrow definition of peace-building like Catholics and Protestants going away on weekends together.
"There is a need to boost capacity building in communities and a need to tackle discrimination."
Mr Allister said he welcomed abolition of the intermediatory funding bodies and claimed many didn't command the support of the unionist community.
"Our top priority is to ensure that long-standing underfunding of the Protestant community which has gone on up until now is reversed," he added.
"It is also vitally important that these valuable resources are not wasted on unnecessary froth but are devoted to projects aimed at increasing economic activity and improving infrastructure in the province."
PA