The trojan threat of the Irish Language Act - Allister
17 November 2006
DUP MEP Jim Allister has expressed renewed concern about the proposed Irish Language Act.
In a statement Mr Allister said:-
"The St Andrews Agreement said, "The Government will introduce an Irish Language Act reflecting on the experience of Wales and Ireland and work with the incoming Executive to enhance and protect the development of the Irish language". Then, DCAL Minister, Marie Eagle, issued a public statement on 1 November which took the matter further and, alarmingly, said the consultation paper being drafted would analyse 4 models, namely, those arising from the Welsh, Scottish and Irish experience, plus the proposals of POBAL, which is the Sinn Fein backed Irish Language lobby group which issued a 50 page document some months ago demanding full equality and official status for Irish, including full bi-lingualism in the Assembly, councils, courts and public offices. DCAL officials have since said the consultation paper will issue on 30 November, indicating intent by Government to fast-track the process.
It has also emerged that whereas so called concessions to Unionists, like academic selection retention, are conditional on devolution, this major concession to nationalism is to proceed in any event. Indeed only through devolution can some control be attained. So, it is to be used as a stick on Unionists. This double standard is outrageous and utterly unacceptable. Why should the concession on Irish Language not equally be conditional on nationalists meeting their devolutionary obligations on policing etc? If this was a fair process, then there would be equality of treatment.
Any attempt to implement the POBAL agenda would totally destabilise the political process. What Unionist would want to be party to a bilingual institutions, compulsory Irish signage, the PSNI title also appearing in Irish and rights which could even translate into employment qualifications. For example, if citizens are given fullsome and equal rights to use Irish, then would their right to so communicate to the police not result in Sinn Fein demands requiring police officers to have a knowledge of the language? This is how the Irish language was used in the Republic of Ireland, as a trojan means of discriminating against Protestants, because of the language qualification attached to public jobs. The lack of clarity on all these issues is cause for deep concern."
