I am not hostile to the Irish language, says Lyons

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has accused Sinn Féin of trying to build a false narrative that he is "hostile" to the Irish language.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member was responding to concerns about the end of funding for a project that helps councils with Irish-English street sign translations.

Last month, a row broke out after Sinn Féin accused the DUP minister of cutting the £90,000 annual funding for the scheme, but Lyons said there had been "no decision" by him or any departmental official to allow it to cease.

Meanwhile, a court has heard that Stormont will not implement an Irish language strategy within the lifetime of this assembly mandate.

On Wednesday, as part of an ongoing case over the delay to implement the strategy, the High Court heard there were no plans by the Department for Communities to deliver the blueprint before the next assembly election, due to take place by May 2027.

Irish language group Conradh na Gaeilge has taken the matter to court twice before and each time judges declared the Stormont executive to be in breach of its duty.

Conchúr Ó Muadaigh, an advocacy manager with Conradh na Gaeilge, told BBC News NI the latest delay shows "contempt" for both the Irish language community and the courts.

Lyons appeared before Stormont's communities committee on Thursday to clarify his department's knowledge of the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project.

Based at Queen's University Belfast, it was set up in the 1980s to research the origins and meanings of local place names across Northern Ireland.

Lyons said that while his department had oversight of the scheme, it had been funded for the past four years by the Department of Finance.

A departmental official, Iain Greenway, also stated that no decision on the project was ever taken to the minister.

Sinn Féin Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald later said she had instructed officials to engage with the university about the project.

But Lyons told the committee his department is still seeking clarity from her about the status of the project.

The deputy chair of the committee, Sinn Féin's Cathy Mason, claimed the minister was "afraid of Irish language and identity".

"We've got Place Names, you're embroiled in court cases against the Irish language, you removed branding from your department, you're clearly blocking the Irish language strategy, you've got form on this," she said.

But Lyons responded: "I'm certainly not afraid of the Irish language or Irish identity... I know there is a narrative some are trying to establish."

Under further questioning from Sinn Féin members of the committee, Lyons said he had no issue with the Irish language, but did question how others were seeking to use it against his role.

"Many of your representatives said I cut funding for this project, that is just wrong. The evidence has been produced and people still fail to grasp that," added the minister.

"If you really care about the language there needs to be the end to the politicisation of the language.

"I know you are trying to build up a narrative that in in some way I am hostile. I'm hostile to the actions your party have taken against the Irish language, I have been to Irish language events in the community, I have had conversations with those who really care about the language... and I am more than supportive of that."

Stormont's power-sharing government has a legal obligation - dating back to 1998 - to introduce a strategy to protect and promote the languages.

Work on preparing the Irish and Ulster-Scots strategy is being led by the Department for Communities.

Speaking on Thursday, Conchúr Ó Muadaigh, from Conradh na Gaeilge, said the further delay until after next year's election was "outrageous" and "unacceptable".

"It's another illustration of the contempt that is shown to the Irish language community and indeed to the courts," Ó Muadaigh told BBC News NI.

This time around, the group is now seeking a judicial order (rather than a judge's declaration) that the Stormont Executive must implement the language strategy.

"We don't think another judge's declaration is enough," Ó Muadaigh said.

"That's why we are seeking a court order to compel the executive to act."

He pointed out that back in 2017 the High Court ruled the ongoing failure to adopt an Irish language strategy had contravened the 1998 Northern Ireland Act.

Then in 2022, Conradh na Gaeilge took its case back to the High Court and another judge granted them a further declaration that the executive had breached its duty.

The work of the Northern Ireland Assembly has been severely disrupted over the past decade, both by the Covid-19 pandemic and by two lengthy periods of suspension.

No locally-elected ministers were in post from January 2017 to January 2020 after the RHI energy initiative scandal and a Brexit row led to a two-year hiatus from February 2024.

Ó Muadaigh explained his group was now seeking an "order of mandamus" which is a court ruling which orders the government body to fulfil their official duties.

The case is continuing at the High Court on Thursday and the latest hearings are expected to last until the end of the week.

A Department for Communities spokesperson told BBC News NI: "As proceedings are ongoing it would be inappropriate for the department to comment."