Talks to save Irish language project began just weeks before funding end despite warning money about to run out last November

Discussions between two government departments over continued funding for an Irish language place name project only began weeks before its three-year funding was due to end, according to documents released by the Department for Communities.

Gordon Lyons’ DfC first asked Department for Finance to fund the NI Place-Name Project (NIPNP) for another year, at a cost of £90,000.

But this request was only made in mid-February and the sender appeared not to even know who to talk to in finance about the funding.

However, the Queen’s University-based project raised concerns over the end of March funding cliff-edge when submitting its quarterly report to the communities department months earlier in November, 2025.

Mr Lyons and his department have come under fire over the failure to renew funding for the Queen’s University-based project, which plays a crucial role in ongoing plans for the roll out of dual Irish-English street and other signs.

But Mr Lyons said the decision to stop funding was made by the finance department led by Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd. Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald late on Tuesday announced on social media she is “stepping in” to keep the project going, but provided few details.

Mr Lyons said the issue of funding the project “never reached” his desk and emails show the finance department saying “on multiple occasions” that “they were not prepared to fund it anymore”.

Finance said it agreed to provide transition funding of £270,000 over three years from 2023 but that responsibility for the project was transferred to communities and with the “understanding” the latter department would manage “longer term funding”. DfC officials said the “understanding was not that the support was strictly limited to a three-year period”.

Correspondence between the two departments, beginning in mid-February and concluding at the end of March with no agreement, reveals DfC first asked finance for £90,000 to fund the project for a full year, then for approximately £70,000 to enable “a full review by September 2026 and establish a sustainable long-term plan for placename work”.

The Place-Name project began in 1987 with the aim of researching the origins and meanings of local place-names, based on a collection of over 30,000 names of settlements and physical features.

But it is also the “sole authoritative source for Irish versions of street names in Northern Ireland”, according to the DfC. This includes key roles making sure correct Irish language addresses are on rates bills, which are managed by Land and Property Services (LPS), and on Irish-English street signs erected by councils.

It announced last week a “winding down” of services due to lack of funding.

In an email, the DfC noted approximately £6 million of public funding has been invested in the project, including in a database of place names.

“If further funding is not secured there is a risk that as the database cannot be maintained, the information will be lost, and all public funding to date will be wasted,” a DfC official wrote.

It was added: “Additionally, given the appointment of the Irish Language Commissioner and the upcoming publishing of the IL (Irish Language) Strategy, which specifically references placenames and signage, it is likely that the Northern Ireland Placenames Project will be high on the political agenda.

“As such, we need to identify potential funding sources to continue the work.”

On Wednesday, the Department for the Economy was still not forthcoming with any details as to how the minister was “stepping in” to save the project.

A DfE spokesperson said: “The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project is based at Queen’s University Belfast. As Minister with responsibility for Higher Education, Minister Archibald has instructed officials to engage with the university to ensure that the work of the project is able to continue.”