'Nationalist = good / Unionist = bad: a dreadful piece of work' – Diane Dodds attacks Council of Europe report about Irish language and Ulster British culture

The creation of the new post – formally known as a commissioner – was part of controversial so-called Irish Language Act passed by Westminster last year.

The Council of Europe’s report, published this week, calls repeatedly for more to be done to spread the Irish language (though makes no similarly emphatic calls for Ulster Scots), including Irish-language teaching in special schools.

It also castigates the authorities over the treatment of “Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and Irish Travellers”.

– ‘BEWARE: CONFLATION MAY PROVOKE INSTRUMENTALIZATION’ –

At the heart of many of the council’s complaints is the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, drawn up by the Tories and passed last December.

It was seen as the price to revive Stomont after three years of Sinn Fein-led limbo.

Among other things, the act promised “the appointment of an Irish Language Commissioner” and a “Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British tradition”.

The council said “these proposals further contribute to the sectarianism surrounding cultural questions,” namely because the title of Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British Tradition “unnecessarily conflates this minority identity with a distinct political one”.

It added: “The legislative conflation of Ulster Scots and Ulster British may unnecessarily provoke instrumentalization of this group for political ends in the context of Northern Ireland.”

Despite the appointment of dedicated commissioners, the council continues by saying “more could be done in Northern Ireland” to promote minority languages.

"A lack of permanent consultation fora with linguistic minorities prevents them from beingable to raise issues of concern on a regular basis with authorities,” it says.

"The Advisory Committee urges the authorities to intensify their efforts to develop andincrease the offer and support to Irish-medium education in Northern Ireland, including forchildren with special educational needs…

"And to work with representatives of the Irish-speaking community to further develop Irish language policy in Northern Ireland.

"They should also consider revising the Bill in consultation with the Ulster Scots minority representatives to address the conflation of Ulster Scots and Ulster British identities.”

The recommendation to push Irish-language education for special needs children comes one day after education officials told a committee in Westminster that Northern Ireland’s special schools cannot cope with the existing volume of work they have.

– ‘GOVERNMENT SHOULD INTERVENE IN MEDIA’ –

The report also takes the media to task, and calls for the government to intervene in the portrayal of ethnic minorities both in mainstream media and social media.

It says: “There is a troublingly persistent level of anti-gypsyism which pervades society at all levels, and strong increases in hate crime targeting other minorities – notably the Jewish and Muslim communities.

"Furthermore, the policy direction of the authorities fails to challenge existing prejudices, and even in some cases worsens the situation through indirect discrimination.

"This is particularly so for the media, whose reporting on Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in particular has entrenched prejudices…

"The situation for people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and IrishTravellers is particularly alarming: Northern Ireland has the highest rates of hate crime in theUK per capita, and Irish Travellers are absent from any form of representation or participation – even consultation by Government.

"The Advisory Committee calls on the authorities to review the Northern Ireland RaceEquality Strategy 2015-2025 in close consultation with minority representatives to ensure it is adequately funded, outcome focused and tailored to the needs of the minorities.

"They should also draw-up a strategy to combat antigypsyism for Northern Ireland.

"The Advisory Committee calls on the authorities to actively engage with media outlets and social media platforms to take steps to combat negative stereotyping and to ensure a balanced portrayal of persons belonging to national minorities.”

According to the 2021 Census, some 2,600 or so people in Northern Ireland are Irish travellers (0.14%) and about 1,500 are Roma (0.08%).

Meanwhile about 32,500 are Asian (1.7%) and about 1,950 (0.58%) are black (another 14,400 – or 0.76% – are mixed).

– WHAT IS THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE? –

Set up in 1949, its own website says it is set up to “promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law”.

It is guided by a Parliamentary Assembly of 300-or-so members, and has its own judiciary – the European Court of Human Rights.

The Council of Europe claims to be a distinct body from the EU.

However, every EU member is also a member of the council, the council uses the EU flag and the EU anthem (the Ode to Joy) as its own, and its headquarters is based a stone’s-throw from the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.

Confusingly, as well as the EU having its own parliament – as distinct from the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly – it also has its own court too, called the European Court of Justice (based in Luxembourg).

Despite having quit the EU, the UK remains a member of the Council of Europe.

– DIANE DODDS SPEAKS OUT –

“That is just basically the Council of Europe interfering where it shouldn’t,” said Mrs Dodds, a former economy minister who served as DUP Member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2020.

“Secondly,” she continued, “it’s indicating, more or less, Nationalism = Good, Unionism = Bad.

"It is a shocking negation of any consideration that there’s a unionist community in Northern Ireland that looks to its Ulster and British traditions.

"It is a dreadful piece of work.

"It even indicates that, while they’re worried about an Ulster British commissioner, that actually we should go further in terms of the act [the 2022 language act passed in Westminster] on the Irish language – quite a bit further!

“The bottom line is we already spend millions on the Irish language in terms of education in Northern Ireland.

"And that’s fair enough. But the only programme that’s core-funded for Ulster-Scots, we’re cutting!

"There is a community of unionists living in Northern Ireland that look to their British heritage and identity and they’re simply being ignored, written out, in favour of an Irish nationalist identity.”

She was also asked about the report’s complaint that travellers, Roma, black people, and Asians in Northern Ireland are being systematically mistreated, and that the government should “engage with the media to combat negative stereotyping”.

“I haven’t seen that bit of the report,” she replied.

"But what I would say is these people [the Council of Europe] come to Northern Ireland, they talk only to very small, select groups of people, then they base reports and judgements on whole communities around that.

"I’ve met the Council of Europe, the human rights people, et cetrea, et cetera.

"It’s appalling to think that this can be stirred up by, what is it they say, two or three visits, and some written report?”

In general, would the UK be better off quitting the Council of Europe?

"That’s a much bigger question than for today,” she replied.

"What I do think on a general basis is they’ve consistenely taken a pro-nationalist stance. I’ve spoken to them about victims’ issues and so on in Northern Ireland and they refused to intervene.

"And yet they come out with all this sort of stuff.”

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