Sinn Fein minister plans Irish language road signs in Belfast - DUP to raise costs at Executive

Asked by the News Letter if the party believe the matter should be brought before the Executive – and if it would stop the policy – the DUP said the infrastructure minister “needs a budget reality check” and said they will raise the spending of departments at the Executive committee.

The party also said Irish is an “important cultural and linguistic tradition”.

It comes after Infrastructure minister John O’Dowd asked officials to draw up a proposal for “multi-lingual” road signs in Belfast – and says he wants to “see more visibility and promotion of Irish Language across public services and in our society”.

The language would be on directional signs on main roads rather than residential streets, which is controlled by local councils. It is happening despite assurances from a NIO minister that recent Irish language legislation would not change the position on road signs in Northern Ireland.

The infrastructure minister says he has asked officials to draw up proposals for the “pilot” in Belfast’s Gaeltacht quarter – which implies an intention for much wider use. He says the recent Irish language act “recognises Irish as an official language”.

DUP MLA Deborah Erskine, Chair of the Infrastructure Committee at Stormont, said she has written to the Minister and asked for the costings.

She said “I have also raised this with the Deputy First Minister who has committed to seek further detail from the DfI Minister. When full costings are known, I will write to the First and Deputy First Minister drawing their attention to the Minister’s plans and ask the Executive Committee to scrutinise spending priorities within Departments.

“Our water and sewage infrastructure which belongs to a bygone age, is an obstacle to new homes being built, our roads are littered with potholes and rural public transport is a joke, yet the Sinn Fein Minister makes erecting new Irish signage his priority.

“The Minister needs a budget reality check. Irish is an important cultural and linguistic tradition within Northern Ireland but I also realise that everyone needs safe roads, bridges and reliable water infrastructure. We have a budget shortfall and the Minister must prioritise.

“As a resident of Mid Ulster Council but growing up in Fermanagh and Omagh Council, these Sinn Fein dominated councils struggled with delivering basic rate payer functions - ensuring bins were collected, swimming lessons were delivered and providing funding for community groups but always found the resource to change English road signs to Irish and English.”

In 2018 Sinn Fein had made Irish language signs on major roads a red line in negotiations with the DUP to restore power sharing – then DUP leader Arlene Foster ruled it out.

When the Identity and Language (NI) Bill was going through Westminster, the NIO minister Lord Caine said “there are no provisions in this legislation that would deal with road signs or change the existing position” in NI.

While John O’Dowd is primarily citing the European charter for minority languages as justification for the policy – he points out that the language and identity bill recognises Irish as an official language.

TUV deputy leader Ron McDowell said unionists must veto wasting public money on Irish traffic signs.

The Belfast councillor said: “Day and daily we hear of the pressures the public sector is under and how the demands for money simply cannot be met. There is an onus on Unionist members of the Executive to call in this divisive proposal as significant and controversial. Ultimately, the point of signs is to instruct road users, not make political points.”

Loyalist campaigner Jamie Bryson says it is part of a “cultural war” – and called on unionist ministers to block the scheme. He said there are more people in NI who speak Romanian, Polish and Chinese than Irish, “therefore if it was a matter of practicality, why aren’t those foreign languages equally included?”