DCAL Attempts to Sneak Irish Language Strategy Under the Radar
06 August 2012
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“If a government department was genuinely interested in hearing the views of the public, and particularly Unionists, they would not launch a consultation on the 11th July. Yet that is exactly what Carol Cullen did with the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure’s Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language. It would seem that during the early stages at least DCAL is attempting to sneak this Irish Language Strategy out for consultation under the radar.
“It amazes me that the document was released at all because any Unionist worthy of the name would have blocked it at the Executive. The Strategy is evidently both cross cutting (were it to be implemented it would have serious ramifications for all of Northern Ireland’s Government departments) and controversial. I have therefore written to co-First Minister Robinson today asking if the Strategy received clearance from the Executive.
“Another startling feature of the document is that it contains no breakdown of costs. This is remarkable for a Strategy which, were it to be implanted, would entail considerable outlay from the public purse. Indeed, in all 53 pages of the consultation document the word “cost” does not appear even once! This is indicative of a Minister who has a cavalier attitude to the use of public money as long as policies advance her Republican agenda.
“In a detailed response to the consultation TUV highlights the lack of any mention of the use and abuse of the Irish language by Republicans and opposes:
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The proposal that the criteria for the enrolment of bilingual/Irish medium pre-schools should be reviewed (4.4.3);
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The suggestion that “capacity in English medium pre-schooling in a particular area should not deter the opening/development/financing of IME pre-schools” (4.4.4);
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The proposal that the thresholds for entitlement to capital funding for Irish Medium Primary Schools should be reviewed (4.4.6);
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The suggestion that an alleged shortage of qualified teachers for some subjects in Irish Medium Primary Schools should be addressed including the adequacy of teaching materials (4.4.7) at a time when many fully qualified teachers cannot find employment;
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The suggestion that “provision should be made for technical and vocational learning through the medium of Irish. Accreditation of vocational qualifications through the medium of Irish should also be facilitated” (4.4.26) on the grounds that (a) centres which provided such training would be less inviting to the Protestant / Unionist community and (b) there is no serious demand for such and
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The suggestion that language learning courses should be developed to facilitate parents in supporting their child’s learning in IME (4.4.28) on the grounds of cost. Prudent use of public finances should not play second fiddle to Sinn Fein’s narrow political agenda.
“However, we are particularly concerned about the intended ramifications for the Northern Ireland Civil Service should the strategy be implemented. DCAL suggests that “Irish speakers should have the right to conduct their business through Irish with all local government, Executive and other state departments, and the legal system and public sector bodies should facilitate the use of Irish by citizens” (4.6.1).
“Given that the figures included in the EQIA attached to the consultation state that just 2% of Protestants have some knowledge of Irish as opposed to 39% of Roman Catholics it is obvious that were this suggestion to be implemented it would seriously disadvantage one section of the community as they would be unable to conduct business through Irish with members of the public and therefore Protestants would be disadvantaged when it came to applying for posts within the NICS.
“We also make our opposition to the promotion of Irish in Washington, Brussels and anywhere else where the Executive has permanent international representation (4.6.4) clear. The reality is that any such measures would simply be part of Sinn Fein’s project to rob Northern Ireland of any vestige of Britishness on the international stage and would serve no useful purpose as English is the world’s lingua franca and no amount of Republican vanity projects in Northern Ireland are going to change that.
“TUV opposes DCAL’s suggestion that those Executive departments and local authorities who do not yet have a reliable service through Irish should undertake to provide it within a reasonable time-scale and to publicise its availability (4.6.5). Again, this would have serious implications for Protestant applicants for jobs who are much less likely to speak Irish – or indeed want to speak it.
“There are numerous other aspects of the Strategy which TUV has serious concerns about (including the expansion of Irish languages programmes on the BBC; the use of public libraries to promote Irish literary events; the removal of the Administration of Justice Act (Ireland) 1737 and the encouraging of private sector companies to develop services through the medium of Irish) which can be read in the party’s full submission to the consultation online here.”
