DUP, Sinn Fein agreement on Irish language averts Stormont crisis
The Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) politician, Paul Givan, and Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill have taken office as the first and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, after the two parties reached an agreement on Irish language legislation late last night.
Northern Ireland was on the verge of another political crisis on Wednesday, with Sinn Fein refusing to nominate Givan over a dispute about long-awaited Irish language legislation.
Sinn Fein and other Stormont political parties said the DUP was abandoning a previous vow to offer the Irish language equal status to English before the next round of Northern Ireland elections.
The 'New Decade, New Approach' legislation was supported by Northern Ireland's political parties in order to re-establish Stormont in January 2020, nearly three years after it had disintegrated.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had piled pressure on the two parties to resolve their differences, telling MPs that the "whole" of the 'New Decade, New Approach' package had to be implemented by Stormont itself.
During an interview with PoliticsHome, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the Northern Irish public would not tolerate its political parties failing to cooperate.
He helped broker the deal by guaranteeing that “if the executive has not progressed legislation by the end of September, the UK government will take the legislation through Parliament in Westminster.”
Lewis had previously confirmed that the legislation would include the creation of an Ulster Scots commissioner, an Irish language commissioner and an office of identity and cultural expression.
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald stated that the deal to entrench equal legal standing for the Irish language in law was “important for Irish language speakers and for wider society because power-sharing is based on inclusion, respect and equality.”
The Republic of Ireland's Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, also welcomed news of the nomination and breakthrough in Belfast, reiterating that he looks forward to “working closely with the first minister and deputy first minister.”
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