INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Liz Kimmins has outlined her commitment to the Irish language during a meeting with the language development agency Forbairt Feirste.
The Minister provided Forbairt Feirste with an update on progress the Department is making on a range of issues including signage on the public transport network and a road signage pilot scheme in the Gaeltacht Quarter of West Belfast.
It comes after the Minister announced this week that Irish signage would be erected in the coming months in the new Grand Central Station.
Speaking after the meeting Minister Kimmins said: “I share Forbairt Feirste’s enthusiasm for the visibility and promotion of the Irish language across the public transport network and I was pleased to recently announce the introduction of the language on physical signage at Grand Central Station as well as ticket vending machines.
“My Department is currently finalising the design of the bi-lingual traffic signs for the pilot on the Falls Road in the Gaeltacht Quarter between Springfield Road and Whiterock Road and I plan to make a further announcement on these in the near future.
“My officials are also carrying out a review of the Department’s Irish Language Policy to ensure that it is in line with the Identity and Language Act.”
Piarais Mac Alastair, Project Manager at Forbairt Feirste, said they were delighted to meet with Minister Kimmins and to hear her departments "ongoing positive work on the promotion of the Irish language".
"We were especially delighted that the minister has announced dual language signage at the Grand Central Station, a decision that redresses the previous exclusion of the Irish language at the station and that the Gaeltacht Quarter Irish Road Pilot will be completed later this year, making the Gaeltacht Quarter the first place in the North that will have Irish language road markings," he said.
"We discussed the extension of dual language audio visual on the Glider, which at present stops at Millfield and we are hopeful that the dual language option will be extended across the entire Glider network.
"Forbairt Feirste will continue to lobby both the Department and Translink to ensure equality for the Irish language across our public transport network."
