The blueprint for tackling divisions in Northern Ireland unveiled by the First Minister and deputy First Minister has been blasted by a major charity.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), which has funded projects in Northern Ireland since the 1970s, has raised concerns over the new Cohesion, Sharing and Integration strategy.

The trust unveiled independent research that made a string of damning criticisms of the strategy, which is currently out for public consultation but was only released after lengthy delays and reports of divisions between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

The study commissioned by the Rowntree trust, carried out by the Institute for British Irish Studies at University College Dublin, compared the strategy with its predecessor, the Shared Future plan.

But the research claimed the new policy abandoned the aim of reconciliation, treated culture and identity as fixed rather than evolving, and had proposed flawed new community relations infrastructures which were deemed as being weaker than the existing systems.

The report comes after political opponents of First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness claimed that they had abandoned reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics in exchange for a "separate but equal" future.

Celia McKeon, of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, said: "Firstly, the research has indicated that the new policy framework abandons the previous strategic goal of reconciliation.

"It instead focuses upon creating shared and safe spaces, and encouraging 'mutual accommodation'. It is far from clear that this vision is sufficiently compelling to prevent a resectarianisation of society in Northern Ireland, especially among the young.

"Our experience of funding work in other transitional societies, such as South Africa, indicates the critical importance of strong political leadership not only on human rights and equality, but also on reconciliation.

"This is particularly important when the 'peace dividend' begins to wear off and when economic hardships begin to bite. With the looming spending cuts this is even more pertinent."