Strategies for Irish language and Ulster-Scots due within year

A strategy for the Irish language and one for the Ulster-Scots language, heritage and culture should be published in the coming year.

That is according to the Department for Communities' screening of its business plan for 2023/24.

A strategy is a long-term plan to protect and promote the languages. but is separate to language laws.

There has been a legal duty on the NI Executive since 1998 to have a strategy for both Irish and Ulster-Scots.

However, there is none as yet.

The executive has previously been declared in breach of its legal duty in the courts for its failure to adopt an Irish language strategy.

Although there are currently no executive ministers, identity and language laws were passed by Westminster in December 2022.

In June, regulations were made which cleared the way for the appointment of language commissioners for the Irish language and the Ulster-Scots and Ulster British tradition.

However, those commissioners have not yet been appointed.

The Council of Europe has recently expressed concerns that the creation of a commissioner for the "Ulster British tradition" could contribute to sectarianism.

The language strategies are meant to set long-term goals for the development of Irish and Ulster-Scots in Northern Ireland over the next 20 years.

Draft provisions for new language laws were included in the New Decade, New Approach agreement in January 2020

In 2022, expert panels appointed by DfC produced recommendations for what should be included in each language strategy.

For instance, the expert panel for Irish recommended that half a million people should "have knowledge" of Irish and 10% of children should be in Irish-medium education in 20 years time.

The expert panel for Ulster-Scots language, heritage and culture recommended GCSEs, A-levels and university degrees in Ulster-Scots.

A number of attempts

The department subsequently issued a call for views on those recommendations.

But its just-published business plan screening for 2023-24 said it would "develop and publish an Irish Language Strategy and an Ulster Scots Language, Heritage and Culture Strategy".

"In doing so the department hope to demonstrate that the views and interests of those people with different beliefs and opinions are fully represented and that their needs are catered for," the document said.

It is not clear. however, if DfC would require executive approval to do that.

There have been a number of attempts to produce strategies since the 1998 Northern Ireland Act committed the executive to adopt them for Irish and Ulster-Scots.

The former culture minister Carál Ní Chuilín had launched a draft Irish language strategy in 2015 but that was not adopted by the executive.

In 2020, language strategies were also a commitment in the New Decade New Approach deal.