Sinn Féin has made a request for Belfast City hall to be lit up for ‘Irish National Day’ which falls on July 11th.

At a recent Belfast City Council committee meeting, council officers presented a review of the City Hall Illuminate Policy but were effectively asked to go back to the drawing board after Sinn Féin and the SDLP showed scepticism.

During the debate at the main January meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, Sinn Féin proposed lighting up City Hall annually on the “Irish National Day,” which commemorates the Irish War of Independence, and all Irish people who died in past wars or UN peace keeping missions.

It is officially called the National Day of Commemoration and is observed in the Republic of Ireland on the Sunday closest to July 11.

July 11 in Northern Ireland is known as the Eleventh Night, or bonfire night – the night before the Twelfth of July commemorations of the Battle of the Boyne.

In recent years, there has been an increase in illumination requests and councillors sought an updated report on governance arrangements and recommendations.

A council committee formerly approved 14 dates for inclusion in the annual illumination calendar, but illuminated dates well exceed this every year. Fifty additional illuminations were approved in 2024, 69 in 2023 and 56 in 2022.

Maintenance of the system is approximately £10,000 per year. All new scenes must be manually created and switched on/off, and each additional scene above the 14 annual dates, must be programmed by a trained member of staff.

The council officer review report states: “There is an inexhaustible supply of deserving organizations and causes who seek to mark their own particular function, group or cause.

"The life expectancy of the luminaires system was 2023 so in due course the hardware will need to be replaced and upgraded if members seek to continue this service and feature of City Hall.”

It adds: “In addition, the increasing number of requests now being approved is also causing operational problems, both in terms of the overtime costs associated with creating the bespoke scenes and also because the hardware in use cannot now accept any further stored scenes as it is at full capacity.”

It states: “Due to increasing number of illuminations being approved and programmed, it is often the case that the general public do not understand why the City Hall is lit in a particular bespoke colour scheme on a given day, as the colours themselves are often only of significance to the adherents of the particular group requesting them.

“Council’s Marketing and Comms team do list all illuminates on the website and promote on socials where possible and appropriate, however 64 illuminations programmed and promoted in 2023 dilutes the impact and uniqueness of each illuminate.

“Officers are concerned that the increased number of approvals outside the criteria will lead to difficulties for the Council where requests are refused. In addition, illumination requests are being presented for review by differing mediums and channels which limits the ability to review all requests against criteria in transparent and consistent procedure.”

Council officers recommended a new system, involving the introduction of an application form to be submitted a month in advance, and enhancements to the current criteria.

They recommended illumination for an additional 14 agreed annual days, resulting in 28 illuminations per year with extras considered, with opportunities remaining for organisations to make requests, but with restrictions.

At the committee meeting, City Solicitor Nora Largey said: “In some ways it has become a victim of its own success, in that there are so many illuminates. There is obviously a cost to those, and the system wasn’t designed to deal with so many requests.”

She said: “There are also concerns about the fairness of this process, because there are some charities who are missing out.”

SDLP Councillor Carl Whyte said: “It is a very small amount of money to be almost quibbling over. It reminds me of when we tried to cancel the Christmas lights switch-on because of health and safety. I agree the process needs an application form, but why are we placing any restrictions?”

City Solicitor Nora Largey said: “It is more about regularising the process, and that we have a transparent process, that people know there is a criteria, and how they can apply. That will stop a free-for-all. There are a number of considerations, and the financial one is only a small part of that.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Ronan McLaughlin said: “I don’t think this is really a big issue, and people will get angry because they don’t like us restricting something that should be for all in the city to enjoy. And if we are still spending the same amount of money – to be honest what is the point of this whole conversation?”

The City Solicitor said she would defer the review, to look at issues raised by councillors and to bring an updated report next month.