SF change tack on Irish scheme funding row - but economy minister won't say how much money she will commit
Stormont’s economy minister has declined to say how much money she will commit to a language project caught up in a political row between Sinn Fein and the DUP – but says the matter falls within her remit.
Caoimhe Archibald announced on social media that she will fund the Placenames scheme, and has now instructed officials to engage with Queen’s University on the matter as her department is responsible for higher education.
Communities (DfC) minister Gordon Lyons had wanted the Sinn Fein-run finance department (DoF) to foot the bill, but Sinn Fein politicians argued as a language project it should be funded by the DUP department.
While officials on both sides have acknowledged that there was an understanding that it would be funded by Mr Lyons’s department after an initial period had elapsed, a political row ensued between the DUP and Sinn Fein over who had cut the funding.
On Tuesday night, Sinn Fein announced that the economy minister “has stepped in to save signage translation services, after the shameful decision by the DUP Communities Minister to withdraw funding”.
Money had been agreed for a four year period until March 2026. DfC told the News Letter that it was its intention “to allocate notional funding until June 2026” – but it was not possible to use these funds “due to staffing issues” at Queens.
Following SF’s announcement of Minister Archibald’s intervention, the News Letter asked DfE how much money had been allocated and for how long; if it will come from the existing DfE budget or from DoF; and whether the matter would need to be brought to the Executive.
A spokesperson said: “The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project is based at Queen’s University Belfast. As Minister with responsibility for Higher Education, Minister Archibald has instructed officials to engage with the university to ensure that the work of the project is able to continue.”
The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project is based within the department of Irish & Celtic Studies at Queen's University, Belfast. The project has a searchable online database which contains information on the origins and meanings of over 30,000 place-names from all over Northern Ireland.