First Minister welcomes dismissal of legal challenge to Irish language policy

Stormont’s First Minister has welcomed a judge’s dismissal of a legal challenge against Belfast City Council’s draft Irish language policy.

The case against the proposal was taken by TUV member Ann McClure who argued the council had not followed guidelines on protecting minority communities.

The policy aims to promote the Irish language, including interpreting and translation of key documents and publications, as well as the use of Irish on the council website, signage and council logo.

Language policies at a Stormont level come under the remit of DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

Michelle O’Neill told reporters on Tuesday: “I very much welcome the court decision this morning.

“I only saw the headlines of it because we’ve been at this event, but I very much welcome the fact that it has now been dismissed, and the minister now needs to get on and deliver an Irish language strategy, because the Irish language is thriving, it’s vibrant, it’s exciting.

“And I think that what we need to see now, instead of the minister chasing court cases after trying to do down the Irish language, what we need to see is a minister, actually, who is responsible for promotion of the language to get on with delivering an Irish language strategy.”

The draft Irish language policy has been paused while a “call‑in mechanism” is considered, allowing 15% of councillors to seek further scrutiny and legal advice on potential adverse impacts on one community.

If those concerns are upheld, an 80% supermajority may be required to re‑approve the decision.

In a statement, Belfast City Council welcomed the judgment and said they had “successfully defended the main grounds of challenge and the court found that our current standing orders are lawful”.

“The call-in received in relation to the council’s Irish language policy, from October 2025, is still to be considered. We have not yet received this legal opinion,” they said.