The Deputy Chair of Stormont's Culture Committee has questioned a bid to fund an Ulster-Scots Academy at a time when cuts are being made to the Department's budget.
According to SDLP MLA Declan O'Loan, the bid comes at the same time as figures showing cuts to the Culture, Arts and Leisure budget of £17m.
Calling the funding bid "inappropriate", Mr O'Loan said: "The project has been delayed because it lacks definition and even those involved in Ulster-Scots issues disagree fundamentally about it.
"The whole concept of a so-called Ulster-Scots language has been inflated to an extent that has become comical. Public documents are being translated into an official verbiage which is non-existent in the real world.
"There is a genuine Ulster-Scots culture, history and local dialect, but the study of it is being damaged by falsehoods."
Adding that cutting the Department's budget from £109m to £92m by 2014/15 would have a "massive effect on jobs and output in those sectors", the North Antrim representative said: "When I asked officials about this at the Committee, I was told clearly that it was the desire of the Minister.
"It appears that this project is entirely politically driven and is not based on a sound case."
'Short-sighted'
Meanwhile the SDLP's party spokesman for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Thomas Burns, has branded the 17% cuts to the Culture Department's budget "short-sighted".
"We all know that every department is facing renewed pressures on their budgets, but I feel these cuts to DCAL finances are too deep and will hurt a great deal," he said.
"The finance minister clearly sees the arts as an easy target and whilst I agree that savings and efficiency improvements can and must be found everywhere these proposed cuts are just too much.
"Museums, libraries, sport and the arts will all feel the impact, although I note that the minister has identified his pet Ulster-Scots projects as spending priorities. Let us hope most of the cuts fall on the highly paid chief executives of the numerous arts and sports quangos his department manages."
Mr Burns added: "There is a lot of anger out there in the arts community. I sometimes feel that people do not appreciate the exceptionally good value for money artists provide. Local art is all around us. It touches and inspires us continually and improves our working and living environments.
"Thankfully good artists are rarely motivated by financial rewards and I sure am sure the committed and talented artists we have will do their best to adapt to the new conditions, although there is little doubt we should be doing more to help them along the way."
In addressing the wider issue of the pressures on the Executive to deal with the tough economic climate, First Minister Peter Robinson said: "While the Executive is not responsible for the economic downturn or the spending cuts, it is our responsibility to do what we can to tackle the problems they create.
"In these difficult economic conditions the Executive's main priority must be to keep people in work and put people back to work.
"If necessary, budgets should be skewed to maximise the effect of public expenditure in keeping the economy moving forward."
© UTV News