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LAST UPDATE | 14 Jun 2021
SINN FÉIN HAS called on the British Government to intervene and legislate for Irish language protections at Westminster.
The clock is ticking on the future of Stormont’s powersharing Executive following the resignation of Arlene Foster as first minister.
An ongoing stand-off between Sinn Féin and the DUP over Irish language legislation could topple the institutions unless resolution is found in the coming days.
Following a meeting with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis, Sinn Féin said the introduction of long awaited Irish language legislation is “the only way to resolve this issue”.
Speaking tonight, party leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “This evening we met with the British government and told them that they need to move the Irish language legislation through Westminster.
“A number of weeks ago the British government offered to legislate for Acht Gaeilge (Irish Language Act) in this way.
“At that time we said our preference was that Irish language legislation would be delivered through the Assembly and Executive as was agreed in New Decade New Approach.
“We have pursued that option vigorously over the last number of weeks.
“We have engaged intensively with the DUP and with party leader Edwin Poots. He has told us that they will not be delivering Acht in this mandate.
“This legislation was negotiated a year and a half ago and it is now incumbent on the British and Irish governments to act.
“This is the only way forward to finally resolve this issue.”
Stepping down
Foster’s formal resignation today as joint head of the devolved Executive begins a seven-day timeframe within which the DUP must renominate its chosen successor, Lagan Valley MLA Paul Givan.
However, the joint nature of the office Foster shared with Sinn Féin’s Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill, means O’Neill must also be renominated to her role within those seven days.
If one of the parties fails to renominate within the time period, a properly functioning executive cannot be formed and the UK Government assumes a legal responsibility to call a snap Assembly election.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis has held political meetings with party leaders to discuss the situation at Stormont.
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald led a delegation of her party to meet Lewis today.
Earlier, DUP leader Edwin Poots and First Minister designate Paul Givan were pictured entering Stormont House.
Making her resignation speech to the Assembly chamber, the ousted DUP leader addressed the row over the Irish language that threatens to destabilise the institutions.
“Let us realise in every corner of this House, that people live here who have an Irish identity, a British identity, some have a British and Irish identity, some are British and Northern Irish and there are new emerging identities, but for all of us this place is called home,” Foster told MLAs.
“We can poke each other in the eye and have a competition of ‘my identity is better than yours’ but it is only by respecting each other’s identity that we will move forward.
“The beauty of the Union is that we can all have our identities and live here side by side.”
Yesterday, a simmering row escalated when Sinn Féin made clear it would only engage in the renomination process if it was accompanied by the commencement of legislating for protections for Irish language speakers.
Today, DUP leader Edwin Poots said there could be no preconditions attached to the nomination process.
He reiterated that he was committed to implementing all outstanding aspects of the 2020 deal to restore powersharing, including Irish language legislation.
However, he declined to indicate whether he would move on the language laws in the current Assembly mandate, a Sinn Féin demand, and insisted there were other priorities the Executive should be focusing on, including the health service and economy.
He said: “Setting pre-conditions is not appropriate, it’s not respecting someone’s mandate, and we cannot be in a circumstance where we have pre-conditions set for the selection of our first minister.
“And I’m not setting pre-conditions to the selection of Sinn Féin’s deputy first minister.”
But O’Neill fired a warning shot to the new leadership of the DUP, stating that powersharing cannot be built on broken promises.
O’Neill, who stood opposite new DUP leader Edwin Poots in the chamber as she made her remarks, said there is a need to work on the basis of “openness, transparency, accountability and in good faith”.
“That’s the only way in which we can share power together,” O’Neill added.
“All of us in this chamber are called upon to lead. That means leading and delivering for everybody.
“That means delivering a powersharing that’s grounded in fairness and inclusion.
“That’s certainly what I’m here to do. I hope that we have willing partners in which to do so also because you can’t build powersharing on broken promises.
“You must deliver upon agreements that are made. I’m committed to do that. I hope others are also committed likewise to doing that.”
Resignation speech
During her resignation speech, Foster stressed that the cultural aspects of the New Decade, New Approach agreement also included protections for the Ulster Scots/British tradition.
She said it was unhelpful to view it solely as legislation affecting the Irish language tradition.
“Too often a demand to advance Irish identity in the language of equality saw simultaneous calls to reduce or denigrate other forms of expression,” she said.
“This was always a destabilising approach in a society seeking healing, and risked simply creating a new dispossessed community.
“This cycle needed to be broken.”
Foster also used her speech to reiterate her criticism of post-Brexit trading arrangements that have created economic barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
She said relations between the UK and Ireland and the UK and EU were “out of balance” as a result of the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.
“It is not a real partnership,” she said.
“An imbalance and an instability is built in that will fester and deteriorate.
“If Brussels continues to think the protocol is enough, they are in denial.
“Imbalance and instability in the context of Northern Ireland is a truly dangerous cocktail.
“Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and needs to be treated as such.”
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There’s more important legislation needed at this time. Hogan is right to put it on the back burner. The last thing we need is more regulations that will inhibit growth.
And as long as the USA and China are out of any deal, it’s pointless in Ireland cutting back. Our contribution is a drop in the ocean. Why should we restrict ourselves while the rest of the world will plough ahead regardless?
Cutting emissions will come about naturally as we seek to change our sources of fuel to renewables.
Why should we restrict ourselves while the rest of the world will plough ahead regardless?
that was a bad business decision and they’ve rightly suffered from it. What it shows is that there’s always a competitive market in these areas to allow the best ideas to become the most popular ones. Fuel efficiency is more popular now than ever. Car companies are investing billions in innovating to find the next breakthrough technology. We don’t need government intervention to push this. It’s happening anyway!
What did the Greens do for us ? Let me think …. That’s right carbon no stealth tax..
Not this rubbish again. What ever happened to those po-faced, do-gooder gob*****s known as the greens. If you’re still worried about the great con that is global warming you really need to go shove yourselves where the sun don’t shine.
The evidence is mounting for climate change. Read the big science journals and you’ll see. People burying their heads in the sand is what caused the economic crisis. Its a mistake we can’t afford to repeat.
Lou, go educate yourself and find out how much the environment is worth to us in terms of health, economy, food production and funnily enough employment. Climate deniers have been thoroughly discredited even as recently as a report mentioned in The Journal last week.
I am not a po-faced, do-gooder gobexpletive but I am green and I am extremely concerned about the change in climate. Should I call you a corrupt, ignorant, climate denier and mainstream party follower then?
Lou, about 99% of the scientific community (the guys who know what they’re talking about) indicate antropogenic driven climate change is happening. now.
I think there is better things to be worrying about now rather than the green party tryin to get attention again,the worlds super powers should cut there emissions first before we a population of 4 million go down that route,the green party got there way with carbon taxes which are ridiculous given the harsh winters were getting,people can’t afford home heating oil cos of these gombeens that were in power
Are you happy that we continue to spend billions each year importing fossil fuels when we have some of the most plentiful renewable energy in Europe? Do you deny energy efficiency cuts business overheads and home heating bills? It’s possible to enhance the economy and tackle climate change at the same time. I don’t think Phil Hogan is the man to bring this about.
Are you for real? Heating oil has not gone up in price because of carbon taxes, noticed any wars in the middle east lately? Heard anything about the cost of extracting oil increasing as we have to go deeper to get at it? I know who the gombeens are and it certainly isn’t the Green Party.
A country of four million with not enough heavy industry to fit in a kettle should not consider climate change of pressing importance. A good covering of old-fashioned dirty industries would absorb a lot of the unemployed and generate business for SMEs.
we have one of the worst per capita GHG emissions in the EU, look at our ag sector and transport sector. Because of the importance of agri in this country and its sensitivity to the climate we should indeed look to the importance of climate change and embrace it in legislation.
How long was Gormley a Minister before finally getting round to printing a Bill on climate change?
Seems a fairly daft comparison, given that.
Gormley was tackling climate change from the moment he became minister, but new legislation takes frustratingly long to implement.
Ommm look up carbon tax budget 2010,there you will see kerosene oil 6.5 percent and gas 7 percent,petrol and diesel bout 5 cent per litre,so do your homework before you shoot your mouth off at me!!!!fool
James, the problem isn’t the carbon tax though it is the cost of the product in the first place. I pay it too when I heat my home same as everyone else but I have no problem with paying it. I’d prefer not to rely on fossil fuel though.
There are many things wrong with the system in Ireland that are far more damaging to our pockets than a small Carbon tax. Like it or not we have to start becoming more responsible for environmental impact.
Ommmmmmmm ……as I said. Go shove yourself where the sun don’t shine. Recycle your nonsense somewhere else coz were all stocked up on crazy around here.
Ommm first it was hole in the ozone layer,then global warming now climate change,humans impact a very little percentage of this,sorry to burst your bubble but we are a planet that revolves around the sun like the rest of the planets,of course the world is goin to heat up and cool down I cycles,this industry in worth billions to the worlds governments preaching bout carbon footprint,all the supposedly called scientists are funded by the governments to preach this crap cos it’s worth billions to them!!
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