No answer from Equality Commission on DUP call for clarity on Irish signs policy

The Equality Commission is non-committal on whether it believes Belfast City Council’s Irish signage policy is “neutral” after the DUP’s Brian Kingston called for clarity from the body this week.
Belfast City Council's dual language street signs policy has come under scrutiny. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.Belfast City Council's dual language street signs policy has come under scrutiny. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.
Belfast City Council's dual language street signs policy has come under scrutiny. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.
By David Thompson
Published 17th Nov 2023, 18:10 BST

There has been a surge in applications for dual language signs across Belfast – the vast majority in Irish – since the council lowered the threshold to 15% support from a street’s residents. Many of the applications are in unionist parts of the city.

A freedom of information request by the TUV revealed that of the 600-plus requests for 464 bilingual signs, over 97% are for Irish – with the rest mainly Ulster Scots. The party says "unwanted" requests for Irish signage have been made in areas such as Ebor Street in the Village, Ballysillan Road, and the Upper Newtownards Road.

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The News Letter revealed this week that the Equality Commission denied advising the council on its policy, despite a claim in a council equality assessment that the commission’s advice was that the use of Irish in signage is a “neutral act” and therefore non-discriminatory.

The DUP’s Brian Kingston – a former Belfast city councillor – responded to the story saying that the supposed Equality Commission advice was part of the “backdrop to the political decision to impose this signage policy.”

The North Belfast MLA said his party had twice challenged the policy, however “On both occasions legal opinion was brandished to defend the policy. We have never agreed with the policy which seems absurd. There needs to be proper scrutiny of this issue and a clear statement from the Equality Commission about their position. The Commission’s position matters because words from their own website in relation to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages were used by the Council in relation to the claim that erection of signs is a ‘neutral act’ and therefore is not discriminatory.”

In response, the Equality Commission said “scrutiny of this issue is primarily a matter for the Council and its committees”. They added: “Any advice we give to public authorities is specific to the authority and tailored to the actual issue or situation. It is for Belfast City Council to assure itself that it has complied with its Equality Scheme commitments”.

It reiterated its position that “in this instance we did not provide any advice to Council officers on the issue of street signs”.

Related topics:Belfast City CouncilDUPBelfast