Irish language Strategy in the north
The 2006 St Andrew's Agreement
- The St Andrews Agreement, 2006, built on the commitments in the Good Friday Agreement under Strand Three ‘Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity’
- The [British] 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
- Following the St Andrews Agreement, 2006, the British Government passed legislation at Westminster to amend the NI Act 1998. Section 28D of the 1998 Act includes the following:
- (1) The Executive Committee shall adopt a Strategy setting out how it intends to enhance and protect the development of the Irish language.
- This has been specifically enshrined into the 1998 Good Friday legislation under 28D: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/47/section/28D
The 2011 Draft Programme for Government
- In its Programme for Government 2011-15, published on 12 March 2012, the Executiverecognised the importance of setting priorities for the future and seizing the opportunity provided by devolution to build a better shared future for everyone. This is ratified under Priority 4 ‘Building a Strong and Shared Community’ which focuses, inter alia, on building relationships between communities and unlocking the potential of the cultural sector as an instrument for positive change. It also includes a strategy for the Irish language as a cornerstone in achieving this priority.
A Draft Strategy to Protect & Enhance the Development of Irish (DCAL) 2015-2035
- The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and the DCAL Minister have published a draft 20-year Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language (2015-2035). Read this draft-strategy here.
- The strateygy was blocked and vetoed at political level. No political agreement was reached in 2015 to implement that draft strategy. In 2016, the Department published a new ‘One year on’ document which outlined some of the actions taken by the Department. That document can be accessed here.
Conradh na Gaeilge take High Court Judicial Review in 2017
- In 2017, 2 years after the publication of the draft Irish Language Strategy by the former DCAL Minister, Carál Ní Chuilín, Conradh na Gaeilge commenced legal proceedings to challenge the delay in the implementation of the Irish language Strategy. The High Court judge ruled in the judicial review that the Executive had failed to meet its obligations under Section 28d of the NI Act:
- It cannot have been the intention of Parliament that, after nearly 10 years from the coming into force of the Act in 2007, this obligation would remain unfulfilled.
- It cannot have been the intention of Parliament that, after nearly 10 years from the coming into force of the Act in 2007, this obligation would remain unfulfilled.
- It ruled that the Executive had contravened Section 28(d) of the Northern Ireland Act (1998) and had failed in its statutory duty to implement an Irish language strategy.
- The ruling from the High Court can be found in full here.
New Decade New Approach 2020
- The New Decade, New Approach Agreement committed to the implementation of an Irish Language Strategy within 6 months of the agreement.
- 100 days were given to: i. publish a timetable for the implementation of the strategy; and ii. begin the co-design process.
- "under Section 28D of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the re-established Executive will produce a draft Irish Language Strategy and a draft Ulster Scots Language, Heritage and Culture Strategy for consultations within 6 months. This will include programmes and schemes which will assist in the development of the Irish language and the Ulster Scots language, culture and heritage"
- "The parties agree that, within 3 months, a new Executive will publish a comprehensive timetable for the development and delivery of these and other strategies necessary to achieve the outcomes in the Programme for Government."
The New Strategy
- During Summer 2021, the Department for Communities convened an Expert Panel to compile a comprehensive report on the new Strategy. In March 2022 the Communities Minister, Deirdre Hargey, signed off and published this report.
- Recommendations for an Irish Language Strategy | Report of the Expert Advisory Panel can be accessed in English here.
- In the Autumn of 2021, the Department for Communities then convened a co-design group to work through the recommendations from the Expert Report. Conradh na Gaeilge co-chaired this co-design group.
- At the time of writing, we await the new draft strategy being published by the Department for Communities.
