Statement by TUV South Down Assembly candidate Councillor Henry Reilly:
“I am alarmed to have received a number of complaints from Protestant staff working for Newry, Mourne and Down Council about an “Irish language skills audit” which has been distributed to the workforce. Workers are being asked if they have an Irish language qualification, how competent they are in Irish, if they would be willing to deal with inquiries from the public in Irish and if they would be willing to take a course in Irish. Staff are even asked if they would like to take such a course during working hours!
“The staff who have contacted me have expressed concern that their lack of either knowledge of or interest in learning Irish could harm their promotion prospects. It is clear to me that the implication of the audit is that having Irish will be a distinct advantage when working for Newry, Mourne and Down Council.
“That is wrong and discriminatory towards the Protestant community.
“It is unfair that members of the Protestant and Unionist community – who make up a relatively small minority of the council workforce – have been left feeling like this. The audit has created a chill factor within the workforce and should be halted immediately.
“I am today writing to the Equality Commission asking them to investigate these issues.”
Note to editors
Councillor Reilly’s letter reads as follows:
Dear Commissioner,
Re Irish Language Skills Audit by Newry, Mourne and Down Council
I write to ask you to investigate if the Irish Language Skills Audit currently being carried out by Newry, Mourne and Down Council is compliant with the Council’s obligations under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act.
As you know, public authorities in carrying out their functions are required by the Section 75 statutory duties to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between the nine equality categories and have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.
It is my belief that the audit flies in the face of the council’s duty to promote equality of opportunity between members of the Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths and Nationalists and Unionists.
Members of the Protestant and Unionist community make up a small minority of the Council’s workforce several have been in contact with me to complain about the audit. They are concerned that their lack of knowledge of or interest in Irish could adversely impact their future employment prospects. Additionally, it has fed the perception that the Council is a “cold house” for Protestants.
As the Commission has itself noted in the past “in Northern Ireland the views of the Protestant and Roman Catholic communities on the use and promotion of the Irish language are distinct e.g.
- A significantly higher proportion of Catholics than Protestants were in favour of Irish language usage (66% and 14% respectively);
- Around one out of every two Catholics (52%) said Irish was important to their personal identity compared with one out of every twenty Protestants (5%);
- Almost three-quarters of Catholics (74%) and less than a fifth of Protestants (18%) agreed that the use of Irish should be supported and encouraged throughout Northern Ireland”.
Accordingly, I request that you investigate this issue as a matter of urgency.
Yours faithfully,