Debate contribution: Irish Language Strategy

Debate contribution by Ms Kellie Armstrong on 18 March 2025.

MLA

Ms Kellie Armstrong

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

18 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Irish Language Strategy

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4860524

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am fluent in Ulster Scots; I was very fortunate to grow up in an area in which Ullans is spake all the time.

My grandmother was probably the most fluent Ulster-Scots speaker whom I have ever heard, and you didnae want to get on the wrang side of her.

Today, we can all accept the historical, cultural and social significance and strength of the Irish language and Ulster Scots across our entire community. The Irish language or Gaeilge and Ulster Scots are more than means of communication: they are living evidence of our shared heritage and identity. In recent years, we have witnessed a remarkable resurgence of both languages in various cultural domains, including music, film, radio, television, festivals, events and sports. I commend all the participants in Seachtain na Gaeilge, an annual festival that celebrates and promotes the Irish language across our island. The event fosters unity and pride and encourages fluent speakers and novices to engage with the language in meaningful ways. I thank Conradh na Gaeilge for its presentation — in Irish — to the Committee for Communities that also highlighted its frustration at the lack of movement on the Irish language strategy. Despite those cultural advances, there remains a pressing need for formal support through a comprehensive Irish language strategy. 'New Decade, New Approach' explicitly mandates the development of such a strategy:

"to protect and enhance the development of the Irish language."

In its report 'Provision for Indigenous Minority Languages in the BIPA Jurisdictions', the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA), stated:

"Too often in these islands language has been a source of division, but in underlining the shared experiences of indigenous minority languages this report seeks to demonstrate how they bind our communities."

In the same report, BIPA confirmed:

"Irish received official recognition in Northern Ireland for the first time in 1998 under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and, like Ulster-Scots, has since 2022 been an official language in Northern Ireland."

It is disappointing, however, to read BIPA state:

"Protection for the Irish language in Northern Ireland stems largely from the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages."

That is something that we should be doing here. I turn to Ulster Scots. The 1999 Northern Ireland life and times survey found that 2% of Northern Ireland residents said that they could spake Ulster Scots or Ullans, which would mean a total speech community of approximately 30,000. Most of them probably live in Ballymena, along the Northern Irish coast heading towards Scotland and on the Ards peninsula. Other estimates range from 35,000 in Northern Ireland to a total of 100,000 in Ireland, mainly on the east coast of Donegal, where half my family is from. It is frustrating to me that the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 had to be passed by the Westminster Parliament after attempts to pass similar legislation at Stormont encountered political difficulties due to disagreements over the status of Irish and Ulster Scots. Regrettably, to put it kindly — very kindly — progress has been sluggish. The Northern Ireland Executive have faced and continue to face legal challenges due to their failure to implement the Irish language strategy, which highlights the urgent need for us to affirm our commitment in the House today. The Irish language and Ulster Scots provide a vibrant thread that is woven into the fabric of our society. Their resurgence in music, film and education is a testament to their enduring relevance. To truly honour and preserve that integral aspect of our heritage, however, we must move beyond celebration and instead take concrete action. I urge the Minister for Communities to expedite the delivery of the long-overdue Irish language strategy, thereby fulfilling our collective responsibility to protect and promote Gaeilge for current and future generations. There is no excuse for continuing to fail to deliver or for delaying any language strategies. Let us stop politicising the Irish language and Ulster Scots and instead get on with delivery together. Not progressing strategies is a failure of the Executive to meet their legal requirements and says a lot about the Assembly's inability to recognise and celebrate the wealth of our shared culture.

692 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:10 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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