Professor Colin Harvey:

The short answer is "Yes", and I will contextualise my answer in terms of my opening statement. I apologise for my single transferable speech here today. I want to put the language rights issue in the context of the starting point. Language rights are part of a long list of issues that are blocked at the moment in the North. What is remarkable, in terms of the power-sharing institutions, is that in some senses a mechanism that was set up to protect rights, like the petition of concern, now looks as if it is standing in the way of progress on a range of issues. That sounds awfully despairing so I will make an interesting and evidential point. Across a range of human rights and equality issues in Northern Ireland, the situation is not unlike the position in Dublin, London, Manchester, Glasgow or Cardiff. The evidence clearly shows that there is an emerging progressive majority for change in Northern Ireland. To end on a slightly optimistic note, the key question is how one can harness such change to move forward on language rights and a range of other issues that have been mentioned.