A court dispute over a contentious interface bonfire in North Belfast has cost the public tens of thousands of pounds in legal bills.
Two Stormont departments confirmed they each racked up legal costs of £28,715 from a string of court proceedings related to an Eleventh Night bonfire at Adam Street in the loyalist Tigers Bay area.
An unsuccessful High Court action was launched by Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey and then Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon last year in a bid to compel police to help remove the pyre.
Read more: Public consultation to be held on future of divisive bonfire site at North Belfast interface
Further costs were incurred defending the legal move in judicial review proceedings brought earlier this year by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson.
DUP MLA Phillip Brett, who obtained the spending details through written Assembly questions, accused the nationalist ministers of "squandering public money" and "inflaming tensions".
But the ministers have insisted they acted to stand against threats of violence and anti-social behaviour.
The bonfire site, located near an interface with the mainly nationalist New Lodge area, became the focus of political and community tensions last summer.
A court bid by Sinn Féin's Ms Hargey and the SDLP's Ms Mallon to compel police to help remove the bonfire failed after officers warned it would create a "risk to life".
In September a judge ruled the pyre had been used by some loyalists to "intimidate and terrorise" residents in the New Lodge by hitting golf balls, throwing bricks and singing sectarian songs.
In January, Mr Bryson pursued judicial review proceedings against the ministers, contending that they should have secured the approval of the wider Stormont Executive before taking court action.
A judge dismissed his challenge on the basis that the issue was now academic. An appeal in June was also dismissed.
Ahead of the Eleventh Night this year, interface gates along Duncairn Gardens were closed after petrol bombs were thrown towards the bonfire site.
The attack, which is being treated by police as a hate crime, was condemned by the DUP as a "deliberate attempt" to heighten tensions in the area.
Mr Brett, an MLA for North Belfast, criticised the public spending on the legal dispute.
He said: "Here we have exposed a clear example of ministers squandering public money in a failed attempt to suppress unionist culture.
"It shouldn’t be forgotten that this legal challenge was thrown out and has reinforced the need for ministers to secure Executive approval.
"Thankfully there was a significant reduction in tensions around bonfires this year in the absence of such political actions inflaming tensions.
"What we need to see around bonfires is respect rather than the abuse of ministerial office to undermine legitimate cultural expression."
Ms Hargey has previously insisted she pursued the court action as Communities Minister to "prevent the destruction of land which is in public ownership and to protect the wider public interest against threats of violence or damage to property and safety".
Ms Mallon has also defended the failed legal action over the bonfire, saying she was "standing up to the threat of loyalist paramilitary violence".
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