New language policy falls foul of parties

Sinn Fin Councillor Johnny McGibbon has said his party have "critically welcomed" the passing of the policy.

Meanwhile the DUP have said: "This move is the last thing Council ought to be having to do in such a challenging financial climate."

The policy now welcomes queries to the Council and offers a voicemail service for those who wish to communicate with council through the mediums of Irish Language and Ulster Scots.

Cllr McGibbon said: “Sinn Fin welcome, as a sign of progress, the fact that Craigavon Council has adopted a Language Diversity Policy but we are critical of the lack of depth of that policy.

"While this decision represents a first step in the process of extending the principle of equality to Irish language speakers, it is disappointing that unionist councillors voted to remove the section allowing for Irish street signage in areas where the majority of residents would approve.”

He continued: “The Irish Language community within the borough has consistently increased over the last decade. We have a nursery school and a primary school teaching hundreds of kids through the medium of Irish.

"Many have now moved on to secondary education through Irish. We also have invaluable work being done by Gaelphobal an Lorgain and Conradh na Gaeilge who assist the parents of children educated through the medium of Irish and provide classes for those who have an interest in the Irish Language.

"Under the Good Friday Agreement and the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages Council has a responsibility to the Irish Language community and we will be continuing to work to ensure that it meets those responsibilities.”

Cllr McGibbon concluded: “The Council policy has still some distance to travel but I welcome this development for what it is; a small step of progress.”

A DUP spokesman said: “The minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting state that 'The Policy Development Officer submitted a draft Linguistic Diversity policy developed to meet the Council’s statutory obligations' and 'The Policy Development Officer advised that taking no action with regard to the Irish language could leave the Council vulnerable to challenge under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages'.

“Sadly as the result of the 1998 Belfast Agreement, there are legal obligations on public bodies in relation to these matters, and so it was inevitable that Council would endorse Arnold Hatch’s proposal.

"This is an unfortunate legal hangover from the mess made of the 1998 negotiations. The DUP will continue to oppose any attempt to introduce a multi-lingual approach to street signs.”

The spokesman concluded: “This move is the last thing Council ought to be having to do in such a challenging financial climate. We hope it is issues like this which can be reconsidered in a common sense manner as parties are forced to prioritise future public spending.

"It is a nonsensical matter for Council to have to fulfil when money is so tight but sadly it is written into law as the result of the 1998 negotiations.”