Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht a chuid focal. Táim fíorbhuíoch as an seans labhairt leis an Seanad inniu ar an ábhar seo. Tá sé thar a bheith tábachtach.

I thank the Senator for raising the important matter of an Irish language Act in Northern Ireland, as provided for under the St. Andrews Agreement. The Government's firm position is that the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements, including the St. Andrews Agreement, must be implemented in full. This is reflected in the programme for partnership Government.

As a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government is unstinting in its work to achieve the full implementation of all outstanding commitments. Respect for linguistic diversity and the Irish language are central to the Agreement and, indeed, can be seen as something of a litmus test for mutual respect. The 2006 St. Andrews Agreement explicitly provides for an Irish language Act for Northern Ireland, to be enacted by the British Government. Unfortunately, to date, there has been no agreement within the Executive to take this now devolved matter forward. Successive Irish Governments have advocated in favour and the Government has continued to do so over the last number of years. In the Stormont House negotiations in late 2014, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and other Government representatives sought that the commitment to an Irish language Act be honoured and implemented. Regrettably, it was not possible at the time to reach agreement for such an explicit undertaking. Nevertheless, in the final text of the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, the Government and the British Government, recalling commitments from previous agreements, endorsed the need for respect for and recognition of the Irish language in Northern Ireland.

At successive review meetings for the Stormont House Agreement in 2016, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade specifically raised the issue of outstanding commitments from other agreements, including that relating to the Irish language, and suggested there should be regular consideration at future review meetings to ensure that they remain on the political agenda. Most recently, in the discussions at Stormont Castle that began in March of this year to support the formation of a new Executive, the Government made consistently clear to the British Government and to all the political parties our strong support for a statutory basis for the Irish language in Northern Ireland, as envisaged under the St. Andrews Agreement. In this regard, the Government also underlined to the British Government the leadership role that both governments must play in ensuring that all provisions of previous agreements are appropriately respected and that the focus remains on achieving full implementation. The talks process at Stormont Castle concluded without agreement on 29 June. However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has made it clear that the Government will spare no effort in fulfilling its solemn duty as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. This includes continuing to work to ensure the effective operation of all of its institutions and also the implementation of outstanding commitments, including an Irish language Act. The Government will continue to work to this end with the British Government to support and facilitate the parties in their efforts to reach agreement on the formation of a new Executive. The Government wishes to see this achieved as soon as possible.

Finally, I wish to note that the Government will continue to support the Irish language on an all-island basis, including through financial support for the work of Foras na Gaeilge be it in the area of the Irish language itself and also the Ulster-Scots Agency.