Belfast: TÜV councillor blames INLA for attack on homeless centre

A Belfast city councillor has blamed republican paramilitaries from the INLA for an attack on an organisation that helps the homeless in the west of the city.

There are ongoing concerns about antisocial behaviour and drug use near the centre.

But councillor Ron McDowell of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party accused the INLA of “gross hypocrisy” given its own history in drug trafficking.

Mr McDowell, deputy chairman of the TUV, said: “The media has in the past accused the INLA of owning a multi-million pound drugs empire in west Belfast.”

“And now they are targeting people in the area who are vulnerable to drugs,” he said.

The TÜV councillor acknowledged that the Welcome Organisation was at the centre of a “perfect storm” due to addiction, homelessness and other social problems in Belfast.

He said the paramilitaries’ violence and threats must be condemned.

However, he added: “It is a shame that the paramilitary action is driving forward a discussion that perhaps should have taken place a long time ago.”

Local residents have been vocal about their concerns about anti-social behaviour in the area, with some believing that users of the centre are to blame.

The Welcome Organisation is a Belfast based charity that has been operating at its Townsend Street site for around 12 years.

Mr Whyte added that those behind the threatening graffiti should “get a bucket of paint, wipe the paint off the wall and hang their heads in shame”.