The UUP is accusing the DUP of "blatant hypocrisy" after the Finance Minister allocated £50m for the arc21 incinerator at Mallusk, which the party claims to be against.

UUP MLA for South Antrim, Danny Kinahan, confirmed around 3,000 objections have been formally lodged against planning permission for the proposed facility.

Mr Kinahan said: "Worryingly it has now been confirmed to me that whilst certain local politicians were boasting of their Party's opposition to the incinerator, their own Party colleagues were setting the 2015/16 Budget which explicitly allocated £50m for the scheme to go ahead.

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"Immediately last year when I spotted a discreet, but hugely significant, reference to this money in the draft Budget proposals I contacted the Finance Minister – the DUP's Simon Hamilton – in order to ascertain exactly what this money was intended for. In his response he told me the £50m capital funding was 'intended to allow the proposed arc21 Waste Treatment and Incineration Plant to commence...'.

"Only weeks ago, in front of a packed audience of local residents in the Academy Sports Club, William McCrea MP urged all political parties to contact the Planning Minister again to reaffirm their opposition to the arc21 plan. The reason I know this was because I was on the same panel as him.

"The decision of his Party colleagues in the Executive to provide this funding, oblivious to the Environment Minister, unfortunately goes to show that neither he or his Party were true to their word. If the DUP truly objected to the project then it could have as easily allocated this money on other more sensible projects."

(CD/JP)