DUP questions why dual Irish-English road signs are being prioritised by John O'Dowd's Department of Infrastructure

In a press release, the department said this is expected to be “a catalyst for a wider rollout of dual language road signage”.

The Irish-Englsh road signs and road markings will be placed on a roughly 800m (2,600ft) stretch of the Falls Road, between the Springfield Road and Whiterock Road – an area referred to by the department as the Gaeltacht Quarter.

There are some 93 traffic signs and 35 road markings in the area to which the scheme applies, mainly to do with bus lanes, parking, and directions.

The scheme does not apply to road name signs, which Belfast City Council is in charge of.

The 2021 census shows that, in the part of the Gaeltacht Quarter covered by the scheme, roughly three-quarters of people have no Irish at all.

There are four districts (technically called “super data zones”) which surround that stretch of the Falls Road.

Here are the percentages of residents living in each who have “no ability in Irish”:

‘Black Mountain C’ – 78%; ‘Black Mountain E’ – 74%; ‘Black Mountain J’ – 71%, and ‘Court X’ – 77%.

Mid Ulster MLA Keith Buchanan, who sits on the infrastructure committee at Stormont, pointed out the pressures on the minister’s budget.

“When the minister first signalled his intent to take forward this pilot scheme we highlighted concerns about the cost, but the minister stated that the current cost had not been confirmed,” he said.

"We will continue to request such details from the department.

"Given the huge pressure on public finances, the most important services need to be prioritised.

"Plans for homes, including social housing, businesses and public sector projects are all threatened because there is an effective halt to development across many areas because there is no way to connect to the sewerage system without major works.

"Those are priorities which should come above signage pilots taken forward apparently without the costs being established.”

In a press release announcing the move on Thursday from the department, the minister referred to it as “an ideal location for this pilot”.

"I believe this is a positive development which demonstrates my support for Irish as a living language used daily by this thriving community,” he said.

The departmental press release also quoted Piarais Mac Alastair of Irish langauge promotional agency Forbairt Feirste, based in the area.

“We are delighted that after many years of campaigning, the Gaeltacht Quarter will have dual-language Irish and English road signage - the first of its kind in the North,” he said.

"This will be a catalyst for a wider rollout of dual language road signage across the North where demand for dual language provision is ever increasing.

"Visibility of the Irish language in the public realm is vital in promoting, understanding and building awareness of our shared language.

"This is a positive first step in ensuring that the Irish language is visible in all our public transport network and we look forward to working with the minister and his department in the coming months and years to further develop this dual language provision.”