Sinn Fein to complain about ‘anti-Irish’ language DUP
Sinn Fein is to lodge a formal complaint against the DUP for the amount of times it has made complaints against the Irish language in Belfast, and has described the party as showing “absolute bigotry” towards the “indigenous language.”
At the monthly meeting of the full Belfast City Council last week, Sinn Fein announced the measures after a DUP proposal that surveys on dual-language Irish street signs should not go ahead at Mount Merrion Avenue, Isoline Street and Loopland Drive in east Belfast, and applications for them should be closed.
DUP councillor Davy Douglas unsuccessfully proposed for the surveys to not go ahead in a last-gasp attempt to override a committee decision.
Last month, a report for the council’s people and communities committee raised issues in relation to applications for dual-language street signs in Irish received by the council for Mount Merrion Avenue, Isoline Street, Onslow Gardens, Lismain Street, Kimberley Street and Loopland Drive.
The council report on the applications states: “The initial assessments were carried out for all the streets listed and potential adverse impacts were identified. Draft equality screenings were therefore carried out.
“The screenings have identified that the carrying out of surveys and the erection of Irish language street signs in these areas has the potential to give rise to community tension. Conversely the screenings also identified that the process could assist in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity.”
Elected members were given two options, to agree that surveys of occupiers of these streets be carried out, or agree that no surveys would be carried out on the grounds of the potential adverse impacts identified, and then close the applications.
A DUP proposal to block surveys for Mount Merrion Avenue and Isoline Street in east Belfast failed on a vote at the committee.
Councillor Douglas’s attempt to stop the surveys at those two streets as well as Loopland Drive on Thursday also failed, with 16 votes in favour of the proposal from the DUP, UUP and TUV, and 40 votes against from Sinn Fein, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and People Before Profit.
Sinn Fein councillor Ciaran Beattie said at the meeting: “We have a policy in place, and if a resident or elected member makes a request, then it must be done. You can’t just pick and choose.
“I am surprised about the particular member, but once again, the DUP is challenging anything Irish – this is every single meeting. Every single meeting of this council there is opposition to something Irish.
“If that was any other party challenging another nationality constantly, what would that be called? It is racism, and it is constant. Look at the amount of money that has been spent in call-ins around the Irish language.
“We will be pulling that data together, because we are at a point now where we are going to lodge a formal complaint. Because we think this is biased, we think it is discriminatory, and it is no longer acceptable.
“It is a breach of standing order number 30, as it is grossly offensive. When people are attacking my culture, background and indigenous language. We will be lodging that complaint with the Chief Executive and the City Solicitor.”
Councillor Beattie requested a report be brought back to the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee detailing the amount of times the Irish language had been challenged, including votes against by the DUP, and the amount and cost of call-ins surrounding Irish language matters by the DUP. Councillor Beattie said: “We think this is absolute bigotry.”
DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting then made a request for the same report requested by Sinn Féin to include how much is spent every year by the council on Irish language signs and “Irish cultural activities.”
DUP Councillor Tracy Kelly said: “I will get up every single month, and say I don’t have a problem with the Irish language, nobody does. What we have a problem with is it being forced into communities and streets where it is not wanted.
“I don’t know how many times we need to say that. If we wanted to put Ulster Scots in the middle of Market, I don’t think they would be singing and dancing about it. Can you not see it from our point of view?”
In 2022 councillors agreed a new policy on dual language street signs. Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and the People Before Profit Party all support the new street sign policy, while the three unionist parties, the DUP, UUP and PUP, are against it.
The new policy means at least one resident of any Belfast street, or a councillor, is all that is required to trigger a consultation on a second nameplate, with 15 percent in favour being sufficient to erect the sign. Non-responses will no longer be counted as “against” votes, and there will be an equality assessment for each application.
Before that the policy required 33.3 percent of the eligible electorate in any Belfast street to sign a petition to begin the process, and 66.6 percent to agree to the new dual language sign on the street.
At the monthly meeting of the full Belfast City Council at City Hall on Thursday (May 1), Sinn Féin announced the measures after a DUP proposal that surveys on dual language Irish street signs should not go ahead at Mount Merrion Avenue, Isoline Street and Loopland Drive in East Belfast, and applications for them should be closed.
DUP Councillor Davy Douglas at the full council unsuccessfully proposed for the surveys to not go ahead in a last gasp attempt to override a committee decision.
Last month, a report for the council’s People and Communities Committee raised issues in relation to applications for dual language street signs in Irish received by the council for Mount Merrion Avenue, Isoline Street, Onslow Gardens, Lismain Street, Kimberley Street, and Loopland Drive.
The council report on the applications states: “The initial assessments were carried out for all the streets listed and potential adverse impacts were identified. Draft equality screenings were therefore carried out.
“The screenings have identified that the carrying out of surveys and the erection of Irish language street signs in these areas has the potential to give rise to community tension. Conversely the screenings also identified that the process could assist in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity.”
Elected members were given two options, to agree that surveys of occupiers of these streets be carried out, or agree that no surveys would be carried out on the grounds of the potential adverse impacts identified, and then close the applications.
A DUP proposal to block surveys for Mount Merrion Avenue and Isoline Street in East Belfast failed on a vote at the committee.
Councillor Douglas’s attempt to stop the surveys at those two streets as well as Loopland Drive on Thursday also failed, with 16 votes in favour of the proposal from the DUP, UUP and TUV, and 40 votes against from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and People Before Profit.
Sinn Féin Councillor Ciaran Beattie said at the meeting: “We have a policy in place, and if a resident or elected member makes a request, then it must be done. You can’t just pick and choose.
“I am surprised about the particular member, but once again, the DUP is challenging anything Irish – this is every single meeting. Every single meeting of this council there is opposition to something Irish.
“If that was any other party challenging another nationality constantly, what would that be called? It is racism, and it is constant. Look at the amount of money that has been spent in call-ins around the Irish language.
“We will be pulling that data together, because we are at a point now where we are going to lodge a formal complaint. Because we think this is biased, we think it is discriminatory, and it is no longer acceptable.
“It is a breach of standing order number 30, as it is grossly offensive. When people are attacking my culture, background and indigenous language. We will be lodging that complaint with the Chief Executive and the City Solicitor.”
Councillor Beattie requested a report be brought back to the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee detailing the amount of times the Irish language had been challenged, including votes against by the DUP, and the amount and cost of call-ins surrounding Irish language matters by the DUP. Councillor Beattie said: “We think this is absolute bigotry.”
DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting then made a request for the same report requested by Sinn Féin to include how much is spent every year by the council on Irish language signs and “Irish cultural activities.”
DUP Councillor Tracy Kelly said: “I will get up every single month, and say I don’t have a problem with the Irish language, nobody does. What we have a problem with is it being forced into communities and streets where it is not wanted.
“I don’t know how many times we need to say that. If we wanted to put Ulster Scots in the middle of Market, I don’t think they would be singing and dancing about it. Can you not see it from our point of view?”
She added: “We are well aware of the history of the (Irish) language, there is Irish on orange banners, there are protestants who speak it, and we don’t need to be lectured on that. We just don’t want it forced into unionist areas.”
In 2022 councillors agreed a new policy on dual language street signs. Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and the People Before Profit Party all support the new street sign policy, while the three unionist parties, the DUP, UUP and PUP, are against it.
The new policy means at least one resident of any Belfast street, or a councillor, is all that is required to trigger a consultation on a second nameplate, with 15 percent in favour being sufficient to erect the sign. Non-responses will no longer be counted as “against” votes, and there will be an equality assessment for each application.
Before that the policy required 33.3 percent of the eligible electorate in any Belfast street to sign a petition to begin the process, and 66.6 percent to agree to the new dual language sign on the street.
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