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DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill has said she expects the UK government to table the Irish language legislation next week.
Labour has also promised to support the bill as it passes through Parliament.
Speaking in Belfast after addressing the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) conference today, Sinn Fein vice president O’Neill, said, as a New Decade, New Approach political commitment, it must be delivered upon.
She said: “Unfortunately the DUP reneged on that commitment and we had to find a solution and a way around the DUP, that was delivered upon by the British Government, so we expect to see that legislation tabled over the course of the next week or so.”
O’Neill said she will meet with Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and David Frost later.
Also today, a group of cross-party MPs and campaigners gathered outside the Houses of Parliament to pressure the British Government to deliver legislation quickly.
The government pledged to press ahead with legislating for Irish language protections at Westminster after failed attempts at Stormont, with Lewis saying the move would come at some point in October.
The Government previously faced calls from the DUP not to press ahead with the legislation while unionist concerns about Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol remain unaddressed.
As the end of October looms, supporters and members of Conradh na Gaeilge, a group pushing for the legislation, gathered outside the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday to prompt the Government into taking quicker action.
Dr Niall Comer, president of Conradh na Gaeilge and lecturer in Irish at Ulster University, said the legislation was “vital” for future generations of Irish speakers.
He said: “In 2006 an Irish Language Act was promised as part of the St Andrews agreement and we’ve been waiting since then for this.
“Earlier this year, the Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis stated that if the Stormont Government was not able to bring through the Irish language legislation, that this would be brought through Westminster, and if this hadn’t been done by the end of September that it would be brought through a month later.
“This is the reason we’re here now – to make sure that the Government honours its commitments and that an Irish Language Act will actually be brought through Westminster.
“It’s vital that this legislation is passed and is done quickly.”
John Finucane, Sinn Féin MP for Belfast North, accused the DUP of blocking previous attempts.
He said: “Ideally Stormont should be the place to legislate for this but what we have witnessed at Stormont over a number of years is one party, particularly the DUP, using their veto to block equality legislation.
“What we now want is for the British Government to step up and stand over their commitment, which was that if Stormont didn’t legislate for this then it would be legislated for here in London, so we want to see that delivered as soon as possible.”
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Louise Haigh announced Labour would support the bill.
She said: “This was agreed at New Decade, New Approach and it is therefore extremely disappointing that this has not been delivered. I believe it would be an important step to build confidence in a shared future.
Nevertheless, in the absence of a move by the Northern Ireland Assembly, Labour will support the passage of legislation should it come before Parliament in the autumn.
The DUP has been approached for comment.
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Chemical free glue???
@Ding Ding Denny: was just going to say, the glue is probably hydro carbon based
@Ding Ding Denny: You didn’t notice all the man-made fibre tents in the pictures? Yes the protesters are using the goods manufactured for the consumer of today, just like people flying to Climate Change conferences it is not hypocritical, if they can affect change the change they cause would far outweigh the damage they have done by using tents made of man-made fibre or chemical glues.
@Diarmuid Hunt: that’s a big if
@Stephen Brady: It is, can’t blame them for trying, sitting idly by definitely isn’t going to change anything.
@Diarmuid Hunt: But the tents are re-usable and last long term… that’s kind of the entire point.
Thats like you calling an environmental activist who reuses the same water bottle for 10 years a hypocrite
@Vin: I never called them hypocrites, I’m pointing out the stupidity of calling climate activists hypocrites for using modern technology as a means to an end, read past the first line of my comment.
@Ding Ding Denny: hopefully they didn’t use the oil derived glue but that made from animal parts. That way they’d be reducing carbon emissions.
Crusties! Well said Bojo!
Knew they were stuck up!
Bring in a JCB, sorted
A bunch of lunatics
@Gisbert Bayertz: The thing about this is when we’re presented with this message in a calm, rational manner, shown the science in a way we can understand, ideally with a voiceover by Sir David Attenborough. Then we’re sold, no need to do any more.
We’ll happily give up all our plastic packaging, we’ll recycle to our hearts content, we’ll clean our beaches and save our tiny animals and even our creepy crawly critters.
The problem begins with what we perceive to be the usual “rent a mob” telling us that we MUST do all the above, most of us will agree with Boris Johnston’s description of them as “unco-operative crusties”. We see the rich and famous like Emma Thompson who will make appearances at events like this, then think nothing of hopping on a plane to fly first class across the Atlantic. No weeks roughing it on a boat for them.
One protester walked out of a Sky interview when he kept insisting how much he cared about the planet and the people on it and wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. Sky’s Adam Boulton pointed out that parliament wasn’t even sitting so all they’d achieved was to cause disruption for everyone else.
It’s the perceived hypocrisy of a bunch of jumped up kids, each of them with the latest mobile phones and never far from a WiFi hotspot telling the rest of us what we have to do. The majority of those protestors will move on next year to protest again at the next virtuous, noble cause. They just happen to be right, this time.
@Arch Angel: Are you for real? Rational arguments backed up by science have been made for years and there hasn’t been enough change made. The reason you’re seeing radical protest is because there hasn’t been enough action on climate change.
@Diarmuid Hunt: I said we get it, I never claimed politicians get it.
@Arch Angel: I don’t know, I understand that you and I get it but I don’t think we speak for the entire populace. Awareness has definitely grown and is going in the right direction but I don’t think that it is as widespread as you think.
@Diarmuid Hunt: You have a point, in which case it may be fair to say those who are going to get the argument have already done so, some will never get it.
These protests by “unco-operative crusties” who seem to make a hobby of protesting from one virtuous cause to the next are doing very little to further their cause and only serve to antagonise people.
@Arch Angel: Possibly, from reading The Journal it does seem to be having a detrimental effect to their cause judging by the reactions of some people and the amount of likes they’re getting. Then again how good is The Journal comment section as a metre stick for the attitude around this? I know you point at the forever-protesters and there will be an element of that in any protest
, you have said that this time they are right, a stopped clock and all that, but some people will latch on to that side of things rather than look at the merits of this particular protest. Any protest should be weighed on its merit and not on whether forever-protesters are present.
@Arch Angel: except David Attenborough has been asking us for years to change and to listen to the scientists and you haven’t listened to him either so the rest of your point is moot.
Tents wont be up to much when they rip them back up.
Does using public money for personal pleasure get you arrested
A good bateing is required
@Michael Wynne: I hear you give a master bateing yourself.
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