THE Department for Social Development (DSD) has provided more than £2.5 million of funding to Community Restorative Justice since 2007.
The CRJ scheme, which operates in republicans areas of Belfast, Derry and Newry, works towards resolutions of disputes by bringing together offenders and victims.
It was originally designed for people who did not feel comfortable approaching the PSNI to make a complaint, and was perceived in many quarters as an alternative to the policing and justice system.
Sinn Féin voted to support the police in Northern Ireland for the first time in the party's history in 2007 but despite this Stormont departments have continued to pay out to CRJ schemes since 2007 with the majority of funding being paid after 2009.
The CRJ's office in west Belfast has received the most funding, a total of £1.3m, in four instalments since 2009, to provide "neighbourhood dispute resolution" and "social environment programmes".
The Derry office also received more than £1m between 2009 and this year, while the Newry branch of CRJ was supported by almost of £200,000 of financial assistance, with the vast bulk coming since 2012.
A DSD spokeswoman said the funding had been provided for "various schemes and programmes" including neighbourhood renewal and community volunteering pilots.
The spokeswoman said: "Every project which applies for funding is subjected to a thorough assessment and appraisal process. Funding is only awarded when the outcomes of the project are in line with the aims and objectives of the relevant scheme."
The Department of Justice also provide funding for restorative justice programmes across the north, which cover both loyalist and republican areas.
The figures for the CRJ were included in a Freedom of Information request obtained by The Irish News.
