A decision taken by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to proceed with a bilingual policy in relation to the installation of city, town and village signage has been described as “a retrograde step in developing community relations across the district”.
Ulster Unionist Councillor David Taylor said it was “extremely disappointing” that the majority of councillors had decided to proceed with a policy which was, according to the Slieve Gullion representative, “not at all conducive to promoting good relations in the area”.
Councillor Taylor further commented: “It was very unfortunate that the various discussions which took place at the Equality & Good Relations Committee on the issue prior to coming to full Council had failed to deliver an outcome deemed acceptable to everybody in the community.
“Unionist representatives had approached the issue in a constructive manner but Republican and Nationalist representatives had decided to ignore genuine Unionist concerns during discussions on trying to find a way forward on the installation of signage.
“There was a clear mindset that only one viewpoint was going to be acceptable in developing policy on the issue and that sends a very negative message to the minority Unionist community in the district.
“We will now find a situation where all areas across the district will see the imposition of bilingual signage even if that local community has no particular affinity with the Irish Language.
“Council should be focussed on developing policies which benefit the whole community. Regrettably this policy decision stands in stark contrast to that.”
Related: DUP councillors walk out of chamber over bi-lingual signs disputes
In a statement released by the NMD Council DUP Group (Cllr Callum Bowsie, Cllr Glyn Hanna, Cllr Jonathan Jackson, Cllr Alan Lewis, Cllr Henry Reilly), the party said it took “the regrettable decision” to withdraw from the council meeting on Monday night due to “the continued disrespect towards the DUP and those we represent, namely forcing through Irish signage without the consent of unionists and refusing to allow the DUP to debate important issues in full council meetings”.
The statement read: “Firstly, in relation to bilingual town gateway signage, we have expressed our concerns with the council installing Irish leading signage in towns where the vast majority of residents do not identify with or use the Irish language. In 2023, the council consulted District Electoral Area (DEA) Forums and yet despite not all DEAs in the council area voting for bilingual gateway signs, this has been completely ignored.
“For six years we have engaged in this debate around gateway signage in good faith through the council’s Equality and Good Relations Reference Group and have made clear we are willing to discuss how old Irish placenames can be promoted in a fair and balanced manner so that all traditions are respected, and which reflects the delicate balance of community relations in Northern Ireland. We have stressed that culture and language provisions must be about facilitation rather than imposition.
“However, after 12 meetings on this topic in the EGRRG, once again it is the case of majority rule by Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance to systematically impose Irish signage in every town throughout the district without any regard for the wishes of those communities, who are now expected to assimilate into another’s language and culture, which goes against the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
“Given that this reference group is a non-statutory meeting, and that after our best efforts to find consensus the outcome still results in majority rule, we believe we are wasting our time expressing our concerns via this private forum and we therefore are withdrawing from it until further notice.
“Secondly, in relation our motion on the Supreme Court ruling and its impact on the council approach to sexed toilets, it is disappointing that such an important and current issue was not allowed to be discussed in an open council meeting because it was deemed to be ‘controversial’ and must instead be discussed at the Good Relations group. While our motion was denied a public debate, moments later a controversial motion from Sinn Fein which has nothing to do with this council regarding Irish presidential elections being extended to Northern Ireland was allowed to be fully debated during the same full council meeting.
“This is the disparity shown towards unionists on only one evening and doesn’t even scratch the surface of what our party has had to endure in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council for many years. The inequality towards unionists is a persistent problem and must end.”
