Debate contribution: Sign Language Bill: Second Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on .
- MLA
- Mr Brian Kingston
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 18 February 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Sign Language Bill: Second Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4806625
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As a member of the Committee for Communities, I welcome the Second Stage of the Sign Language Bill. I commend the Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, for advancing the Bill, which completes the set of four Bills that, in May of last year, he committed to introducing. The introduction of a sign language Bill was also a DUP commitment in our 2022 Assembly election manifesto, so the Bill represents DUP delivery on that commitment. The Bill gives official recognition to British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language as languages of Northern Ireland. It is important that we all recognise that those who use sign language are not signing in English or in Irish: sign language is a language in its own right. For many in the deaf community, it is their first language and their main means of communication. It is also used by a significant number of their family members and friends. The Bill therefore recognises:
"the general entitlement of individuals in the deaf community to use British Sign Language or Irish Sign Language as necessary or convenient in the course of everyday activities".
The Bill commits the Department for Communities to ensuring the availability of sign language classes. It also requires statutory services and prescribed organisations to take "all reasonable steps" to:
"(a) ensure that information and services provided by the organisation are as accessible to individuals in the deaf community as they are to individuals who are not in the deaf community, and (b) offer or facilitate the use of British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language ... in accessing information and services provided by the organisation."
Northern Ireland, uniquely in the British Isles, has two sign languages, BSL and ISL, but we are the only jurisdiction without sign language legislation. We will now rectify that. Sign languages are fully functional languages in their own right, using hand shapes, movement of the hands, body language, facial expressions and lip patterns to convey meaning. They also have their own grammar, vocabulary and idioms, which are completely different from the grammatical rules of spoken language. For many sign language users, spoken or written language is a second or even third language. As with all linguistic minorities, members of the deaf community have varying levels of English. While some sign language users are bilingual in their sign language and English, many have limited literacy skills. That means that misunderstandings can easily arise, especially when using more complex concepts of grammar or less common words. Previous government reports estimate that 5,000 of the 17,000 severely or profoundly deaf individuals in Northern Ireland use sign language, which is also widely used among their friends and families, and state that, of the 5,000 who use sign language, 3,500 use BSL and 1,500 use ISL.
Any well-functioning society will want to ensure that all citizens are included and not excluded. We strongly welcome the progress of the Bill at Second Stage and look forward to it coming to Committee for further scrutiny.
497 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.75).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.15 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.75 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.90 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.10 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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