Full facts of council’s Irish language event

YOUR article (News, March 7), saying that there was “no merit” to the call-in of the Mid and East Antrim Council decision not to hold an event during Irish Language Week is inaccurate, which is not surprising, since you were given incomplete information by the council.

The call-in was taken by all the SDLP, Alliance and Sinn Fein councillors, along with independent councillor Paul Maguire. The barrister’s opinion has two conclusions with equal weight.

He did say that there was no disproportionate adverse effect, because Irish Language Week was able to proceed. But the council failed to tell you that the call-in request “does meet the standard of having merit” as it did not demonstrate “proper consideration of the relevant facts and issues” and “it is not clear to me that the council considered the statutory duty imposed by Section 75” — that is, equality considerations: “The council should reconsider the issue.”

The response of the council was to repeat the decision not to hold an Irish language event without any further advice, or consideration of equality implications. We now have the Alice in Wonderland situation that the mayor says he will hold an Irish language event — despite his council having voted twice, against legal advice, not to hold one.

CLLR DECLAN O’LOAN (SDLP) Mid & East Antrim Borough Council