THE Northern Ireland Assembly has been criticised for its “hostile” attitude towards the Irish language in a report published by the Council of Europe.
The report identified the lack of support for the use of the language in courts and in education and said that poor attitudes in Stormont are preventing growth and promotion of its use in Northern Ireland.
The council is a human rights organisation with 47 member states.
Northern Irish Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure Carál Ni Chuilín, responsible for promoting the language, said she would introduce new legislation during the current Assembly term.
"There is a large body of support for an Irish Language Act in the North," she said.
"As languages are now a devolved matter full legislation will require the agreement of the Executive and Assembly.
“I hope that all supporters of the Irish language will work together to convince the Executive, the Assembly and all our people of the merits of supporting an Irish Language Act."
Stormont's power-sharing coalition is required to submit information on minority languages to the Council of Europe.
The information provided by various governments is then used to produce a report every three years regarding the state minority languages.
The Council of Europe report also reviewed attitudes to Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, and Ulster Scots which it said has improved even if it "still remains absent from public life".
The report also found that not enough had been done to increase the number of Irish language pre-school places in Northern Ireland to meet the growth in demand, and an insufficient number of teacher training places for Irish language speakers.
They criticised the delays and obstacles over the introduction of bilingual street signs and tourist information.
The lack of political consensus in Northern Ireland on the language was also criticised and the lack of a long-awaited Irish Language Act.
The review team called for new measures to allow for simultaneous translation in the Assembly.
Overall the council’s panel of experts said work has been hindered by a failure by authorities to provide information.
The UK government was also criticised for delayed and incomplete responses to requests for information about the standing of Irish in Northern Ireland.
The British government signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in March 2000 and it came into force in July 2001.
