DUP and Sinn Féin trade barbs over Coca Cola sponsorship

£8,750 funding has been witheld from Belfast youth programme to look at Coca Cola involvement

Coca Cola’s involvement in a youth climate change programme has stirred up a row at Belfast City Council, with the DUP and Sinn Féin accusing each other of double standards.

At the September meeting of the full Belfast Council, the DUP unsuccessfully tried to reverse a committee decision to hold off on funding for the 30 under 30 Northern Ireland Climate Change-Maker’s programme.

Sinn Féin had found sufficient backing at the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee last month to defer funding for the programme due to involvement from Coca Cola, who are on a boycott list for involvement in an illegal Israeli settlement in occupied Palestine territories. The committee on a close vote decided to defer for further information on co-sponsors for the event.

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Officials at the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee recommended the council contribute £8,750 plus VAT for the 30 under 30 initiative – a climate focused initiative where young leaders from Northern Ireland get to take part in an international learning programme. The overall budget for the programme is £100,000, which will run from October 2025 to June 2026.

At the full council meeting this week, DUP Alderman Dean McCullough proposed reversing the committee decision, for the council to offer the “modest contribution.”

He told the chamber: “This is a small sum that would have opened doors for young people in Belfast. But Sinn Féin had it deferred, not because of the programme itself, not because of the benefits for young people, but because one of the sponsors was Coca Cola.

“I am sure the board of Coca Cola are watching this debate with baited breath, perhaps in an emergency meeting. But I want to register my deep disappointment, as I have seen Sinn Féin members happily drinking Coke often in this City Hall.

“It is galling to hear Sinn Féin pontificate about human rights. In August, at the controversial West Belfast Festival, a platform was given to Brendan Bik McFarlane, the IRA terrorist convicted of the Bayardo bombing bar massacre.”

He added: “You’ll hear no mention from Sinn Féin on Hamas, who started this war, no mention of the women raped, no mention of civilians slaughtered, or the hostages still in captivity. No mention of Hamas stealing aid from their own people or the persecution of christians, women, of the LGBT community, of anyone who doesn’t conform to their radical ideology.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Ciaran Beattie replied with a reference to a previous decision by the council at the meeting, backed by Sinn Féin, to give almost one million towards the restoration of Fernhill House. He said: “Fernhill House was used to store weapons by the UVF, it was used by the Combined Loyalist Military Command to call a ceasefire, which involved a lot of people who were in charge of terrorist organisations, who slaughtered all sorts of innocent people.”

A poll on the DUP proposal received 26 votes in favour, from the unionist parties and Alliance, to 30 votes against, from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit

The 30 under 30 programme is coordinated by the Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful and their partner Podiem. The council report on the matter states: “The initiative, featuring world-class speakers and experts, will be supported by organisations such as the Garfield Weston Foundation, Pinsent Masons, Coca Cola and Danske Bank (to name a few) with a request for local authority involvement being addressed through this approach to Belfast City Council.”

Last month council officers said they would return with more details on the role of Coca Cola in the programme.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions National Committee added Coca-Cola to its priority boycott list in December 2024. This decision was based on the company’s operations in an Israeli settlement considered illegal under international law.

A Coca-Cola factory is located in Atarot, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. The BDS movement, which aims to pressure Israel to comply with international law, has targeted Coca-Cola due to its involvement with this settlement. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other groups are calling for boycotts of Coca-Cola and its associated brands as part of their broader campaign against Israeli apartheid.

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