South and East Belfast Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Ó Donnghaile welcomes Human Rights Commission Meeting

Published: 31 October, 2007

South and East Belfast Culture Spokesperson Niall Ó Donnghaile today welcomed the meeting between Sinn Féin and the Huuman Rights Commission to discuss the Irish Language Act.

The delegation included Bairbre de Brún MEP and Francie Brolly MLA.

Speaking after the meeting, Ms de Brún said,

"This was a useful meeting with the Human Rights Commission. Sinn Féin requested this meeting after last week's statement by Edwin Poots regarding Irish langauge legislation.

"During the meeting we emphasised the need for legal protections for the Irish language. We also discussed the inclusion Irish language protections in the Bill of Rights.

"The Human Rights Commission reiterated its point on the need for compliance with international human rights obligations. The Human Rights Commission told us it was committed to a rights based approach to the Irish language as outlined in its response to the consultation."