Statement by TUV North Down candidate John Brennan:
“Social media is an important tool for engaging with the public so like many I welcomed the Electoral Commission’s announcement that they would use Facebook adverts to remind people of the approaching deadline to register for the Assembly election on 5th May.
“However, in order for such adverts to be of any use to the public people have to be able to read them.
“I am surprised, therefore, to discover that at least some of the adverts being paid for by public money are in Irish.
“The last census showed that Irish was the “main language” of just 0.2% of Northern Ireland’s population. To put that in context, 1.02% said their main language was Polish.
“The fact that an advert in Irish is unnecessary is underscored when one clicks on the link and discovers a webpage which is in English!
“It is incumbent upon the Electoral Commission to tell us how much they have spent on these adverts in Irish and how they justify the use of public money to pay for such adverts.
“At a time of austerity taxpayer’s money should not be squandered on something simply because it is politically correct.”