Irish-language street signs in Belfast: Why 15% of residents is enough to prompt change

In Belfast, this unique phenomenon has been distilled down into something that wouldn’t even garner a raised eyebrow in the rest of the UK or Republic of Ireland — the local council’s dual-language street sign policy.

It has caused political rows at City Hall and on the airwaves, but when exactly did all this start, and why?

Since 1998, Belfast City Council’s (BCC) dual-language signage policy has allowed for any individual to apply for the erection of such signage, as long as the application is accompanied by a petition signed by at least a third of registered electors on the street in question.

A subsequent consultation would then be carried out, and if two-thirds of residents support the move, the application could then be approved by the council.

There were some caveats to this, such as that consideration would be given to only putting up the signage on parts of ‘long streets’ if the majority of opinion differed between certain sections of the street.

In 2012, the council considered amending its policy to reduce the threshold for support for the signage from two-thirds to a simple majority. This proposal, among a few others, was rejected and the existing policy remained in place.

This all changed significantly when a new policy was introduced in 2022, following a vote by the full council. The new policy was supported by Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Alliance, the Green Party and People Before Profit. The DUP, UUP and PUP voted against it.

The new policy reduced the threshold from two-thirds to 15%. This followed a report in 2017 by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, which concluded that public authorities cannot require majority support for a minority language.

In terms of where the 15% figure came from, guidance from the Special Rapporteur noted that the “threshold where it is reasonable and practical to provide such signs varies between 5% and 20% of the local population”.

The policy proposals that were agreed were developed by council officers “in close consultation with the city solicitor and director of Legal and Civic Services”.

Under the changes, either an individual on a street, a developer or a councillor in the District Electoral Area could request a dual-language sign. In a consultation of residents, a non-reply would no longer be considered to be against an application.

A report would also be provided to BCC’s People and Communities Committee, who would have to approve the request, after which the application would have to be approved by the full council.

It is important to note that, ultimately, the council has the power to reject applications, regardless of how much support they have. The council has to take into account several factors when deciding on dual-language signage, including “consideration of the local context” and the potential impact on good relations.

According to a 2021 council report, the council’s powers means it can “take into account the specific circumstances” of each application when making its decision.

The report adds: “The exercise of the committee’s residual discretion will ensure that second-language street signs will not be erected in a manner which could undermine good relations at a neighbourhood level.”

Furthermore, any council decision can be ‘called in’ if 15% of councillors feel the decision was not properly considered or that it would disproportionately, adversely impact a section of the district. If a call-in is submitted, a second legal opinion must be obtained. If the legal opinion finds the decision should be reconsidered, it must be voted on again and requires a qualified majority of at least 80% of councillors to vote in favour of the original decision.

This new policy has proven hugely controversial and has seen a significant increase in the number of dual-language (Irish/English) sign applications being approved. Since it came into force, 228 such applications have been signed off, compared to 226 over the entire 24-year lifespan of the previously stricter policy.

Critics say it is undemocratic, while supporters say it is fairer for residents who want the minority language to be promoted and protected.

One of the latest City Hall rows on this topic happened in March, when applications for the erection of dual-language signage on four streets in Belfast were approved. While all four applications met the required 15% threshold, they also had greater numbers opposing them.

Previously, there was a convention that, if more residents were against the signage than were in support, the application in question would essentially be deferred indefinitely. This resulted in an uneasy compromise, but in March this convention seemed to break down, with Sinn Fein and the SDLP voting through the applications for the four streets.

The DUP then failed in a last-ditch attempt to block the decision from being ratified at an April meeting of the full council. Speaking in the chamber, the DUP’s Ruth Brooks said the threshold for applications has been set so low it “practically trips over democracy”.

She said: “The process has drifted so far from being evidence based, or community led, and so far from democratic integrity, that it is no longer even pretending to be mutual. Consultations are treated like a box-ticking exercise, objections are met with shrugs, silence is spun as consent. And when communities do speak, their voices are folded neatly into the inconvenient pile. And we are told this is progress.”

Sinn Fein’s Róis-Máire Donnelly said the council’s bilingual street signage policy was developed “in line with international best practice on the visibility of minority languages and received cross-party support”.

“In the main, apart from a very small minority, this has been successful, with hundreds of street signs installed without complaint and with strong support,” she said.

SDLP’s Carl Whyte added: “Protecting minority languages is a legal requirement and also means Belfast’s linguistic diversity is reflected in our streets and our surroundings.

“Sadly, signs across the city have been vandalised in a seemingly organised campaign of criminal damage, which, of course, is completely pointless: any signs vandalised have and will continue to be repaired by the council.”

Conchúr Ó Muadaigh, spokesperson for Irish-language group Conradh na Gaeilge, said, following the Good Friday Agreement, the UK Government ratified the European Charter for Regional Minority Languages in NI for Irish and Ulster Scots.

“Monitoring experts for the Charter have been consistently critical of local councils who have, over 30 years, set unreasonably restrictive thresholds, usually at 66% of residents,” he said.

“Political unionism’s opposition to dual-language street signage is long established, from Brian Faulkner in 1949 right through to the current day here in unionist-dominated councils, where policies remain incredibly restrictive or non-existent.”

Mr Ó Muadaigh noted that the threshold for a decision to be ‘called in’, which is used by many parties, including the DUP regarding Irish-language signage, is also set at 15%.

As of July 2 this year, 1,110 dual-language sign applications were pending, covering 737 individual streets. Given the track record at the council since the new policy was introduced, as things stand there will be a lot more Irish signs popping up across Belfast — at a lot more rows at City Hall.