DUP minister says Sinn Fein ‘dragging their feet’ on Irish language strategy

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has accused Sinn Fein of “dragging their feet” on the Irish language, as the row on the issue between the two largest Executive parties continues.

In the Stormont Assembly on Monday the DUP minister produced a letter from Sinn Fein Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, claiming she took 13 months to respond to a request from his department on the Irish language strategy.

The Communities Minister has come under fire in relation to the future of the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project, an academic initiative that provides councils with support in translating English street names into Irish.

Sinn Fein MLAs have accused Mr Lyons of refusing to renew funding for the project this year.

However, the minister has rejected that claim, insisting the work had previously been funded by the Sinn Fein-led Department of Finance and he has made no proactive decision to cut financial support for the scheme.

In Assembly questions on Monday, SDLP MLA Mark Durkan asked Mr Lyons about the Irish Language and Ulster Scots strategies, asking what action he will take to “fulfill the Executive’s obligations to the Irish language community”.

Mr Lyons said Mr Durkan was right to highlight the Irish language strategy is “an Executive strategy”, meaning there was a “cross-departmental working group” established to monitor its progress.

He said ministers were invited to respond to the draft action plans but “not all responded within the specified timeframe”.

“Some ministers have, in particular, expressed reservations about the budgetary implications, and in fact, a final response from the Department for the Economy is still outstanding,” he said.

“And by way of evidence, and because I know that Sinn Fein are very interested in this issue, here is a letter that I received on May 14 2026.

“It’s from the Minister for the Economy, and in it she says, ‘I refer to your note of the 9 April 2025’ – 13 months after I wrote to her asking about her plans and the work that she would engage in on the Irish language and Ulster Scots strategies, she responded to me 13 months later.

“We have a Department of Finance minister who would only note the strategy and not give it approval, don’t even get me started on the Department for Infrastructure, but we have had continual delay and feet-dragging from Sinn Fein ministers.

“So I would remind everybody in this House that it is a cross-departmental strategy, both on Irish and Ulster Scots, but if other ministers are not prepared to respond in a timely manner, or not at all, it’s going to be very difficult for the Executive to make progress.”

Mr Durkan said Mr Lyons enjoys “pointing the finger of the blame” but that “most people just want to see progress” on the Irish language and Ulster-Scots strategies.

Mr Lyons replied: “My job was to facilitate the work that came back from departments, but Sinn Fein were dragging their feet on that, and that’s a question that they need to ask, why they were not prepared to engage and why they were not prepared to sign off on those things.”

The minister then quoted a statement from Sinn Fein MLA and Communities Committee chairman Colm Gildernew reading “this is the latest example of a deliberate, provocative, and intolerant approach by Gordon Lyons towards the Irish language”.

“Well, let’s be very clear today, the exact same words can justifiably be used about Sinn Fein, because they are the ones that are dragging their feet,” Mr Lyons said.