TUV questions why Irish language probe unveiled during Stormont's summer break
The TUV has questioned why the Economy Minister announced her probe into the Irish language in the workplace after Stormont broke for summer.
The assembly stopped at the end of last week and won’t return until the end of August, but Caoimhe Archibald announced two new research projects examining the Irish language’s potential economic benefits today.
For Allister Kyle, her timing means MLAs have been denied the chance to “challenge or scrutinise” the move.
Said Mr Kyle: “Taxpayers are entitled to ask whether this should really be a Department for the Economy priority.
“It is also noteworthy that this announcement has been made during the assembly recess, ensuring there is no opportunity for MLAs to question the minister directly or hold her to account.
“If the minister is confident this represents a sensible use of public money, why was it not announced while the assembly was sitting?”
Mr Kyle, a councillor in the Causeway Coast district, also demanded to know how much will be spent on the two research projects commissioned by Caoimhe Archibald, and why Queen’s University Belfast was chosen to carry them out.
“There is a legitimate concern that this exercise is intended not simply to gather evidence but to create the justification for further Irish language spending in the years ahead,” he told the News Letter.
“The public deserves transparency. Northern Ireland deserves an Economy Minister whose primary focus is on growing the economy for everyone rather than commissioning research into politically contentious projects while avoiding assembly scrutiny.”
Mr Kyle went on to question whether the research was voted through by the Executive.
Announced today by the Sinn Fein economy minister, the two pieces of research will be carried out by Queen’s University Belfast and will look at the language’s economic impact as well as what potential support for an Irish medium workforce there might be.
One project will be an economic impact assessment of the Irish language, while the other will analyse the effectiveness of a mentoring and capacity-building workplace training programme run by a body in west Belfast.
Annoucning the move, Ms Archibald stated that although the “cultural and social value” of the Irish language is increasingly recognised, there also needs to be a focus on the economic benefits she argued it could bring.