McGimpsey voices Irish Language Act Concerns
With the deadline for responses on the Irish Language Act consultation closing on Monday, Ulster Unionist South Belfast candidate, and former DCAL Minister, Michael McGimpsey, has warned that such an Act could be “profoundly harmful to community relations”.
In a statement, Mr McGimpsey said: “The decision at St Andrews to introduce an Irish Language Act is profoundly unsettling, with potentially very damaging implications for community relations and respect for cultural diversity.
“And for any Government department to propose that legislators pass legislation with no indication of the cost to the taxpayer is a neglect of government’s duty to promote fiscal responsibility and accountability.
“But how did we get to this position? Anyone remember the nightmare scenarios in the DUP’s 2003 party election broadcast? We had fake newspaper headlines – one read ‘Irish compulsory in all schools’.
“At the time that looked like irrational fear, but few will have realized that this would become a DUP commitment.
“When the DUP went to St Andrews the language issue had been settled, but when they came back from St Andrews they had the Irish Language Act in their back pocket.”
Concluding he said: “References to the Welsh language in the consultation are wrong-headed. Put simply, Northern Ireland is not Wales: the Irish language, unlike Welsh, has political and cultural associations that ensure it cannot be viewed as a ‘neutral’ form of cultural expression, having no impact on community relations.
“The Ulster Unionist Party respects cultural diversity as a key foundation for a stable, peaceful, pluralist society. That’s why we oppose this Act – respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity will be fundamentally undermined by the proposed Act.
“The bottom line is that it’s entirely unnecessary and contains a wilful ignorance of the views of a wide range of political and community stakeholders in Northern Ireland. The DUP ought to be ashamed of themselves.”