Irish obstructed in the north
January 21, 2014
British Government and Northern Ireland Assembly heavily criticised in the latest report from the European Council Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The European Charter is an important legislation regarding the preservation and promotion of minority and regional languages under European law which came to include Irish, as well as Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster-Scots and Cornish, when it was signed by the British Government in 2001.
The Committee of Experts reviews the implementation of the Charter at the end of every cycle and in its most recent report, the Committee has blasted the British Government’s approach to the Irish language.
During the on-the-spot visit to the NI Assembly during the most recent cycle, the European Council Committee found that hostile attitudes persisted towards the Irish language in Stormont and, despite the Committee’s recommendation to implement comprehensive language policy in 2009, no steps have been taken towards any policy. The Committee also noted that the promotion of Irish in the six counties remained a contentious subject.
A monitoring report published in November by Pobal, the Irish language advocacy organisation in the north, found that both the British Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly are continually failing to fulfil their legal obligations under the European Charter which is demonstrated by the various obstacles that citizens are faced with while attempting to deal with the State through Irish.
The British Government is obliged to present a report to the European Council every three years regarding the implementation of the Charter however, a disagreement among members of the Assembly regarding the submission resulted in the report being significantly delayed in 2013 as was the case in 2010.
The Committee found that unjustified restrictions on the use of Irish in some fields covered by the Charter, including in courts and the use of bilingual street signage, still persist.
In relation to Irish-medium education, the Committee reported a reluctance in the Department of Education to facilitate and promote Irish-medium education especially at secondary level. The experts noted the lack of teaching materials available and the shortage of qualified secondary teachers in the six counties.
The report emphasised the concern among the Irish-speaking community regarding the provision of Irish-medium preschooling, teacher training, especially at secondary level, and many schools reported a reduction in the number of teachers dedicated to the teaching of Irish in schools.
Janet Muller, CEO of Pobal, said, “We note that the Experts have strongly urged that the Irish Language Act be introduced and it is in our opinion time to publish an agreed target date for its introduction and move forward”.
“As for Part III of the Charter which makes specific provision for Irish in the north, the Experts make significant criticism in relation to current provision in relation to the media, to education, to the courts, to the administrative practice of the political administrations both at the assembly level and local council level – and to the failure of Westminster and the Assembly to report back to the Council of Europe as required under international legislation”, she said.
The Committee of Experts has advised that legislation is required to protect the Irish language and is strongly urging the British Government and the NI Assembly to provide an appropriate legislative base for the protection and promotion of Irish in Northern Ireland.
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