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Bryson legal challenge pauses Grand Central Irish language signs work

Jayne McCormack and Finn Purdy
BBC News NI
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Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson said he has lodged legal papers for a judicial review against the Department for Infrastructure

Work to introduce new Irish language signage at Grand Central Station in Belfast has been paused due to legal action, Translink has said.

It comes after Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said the decision by Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins to approve £150,000 for the signs was "bad process".

His party plans to raise the issue at Thursday's executive meeting of ministers.

Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson said he has lodged legal papers to initiate a judicial review against the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) over the decision, stating it was taken "without executive approval".

Mr Bryson said he initiated legal proceedings last week in respect of the "significant, controversial and divisive" decision to "impose" Irish language signage at the station.

He said on Tuesday, the DfI was informed an urgent application was going to be made to the High Court to seek an injunction against work starting on the signs.

Mr Bryson said that in response, Translink's earlier statement was withdrawn and "our legal action has halted the commencement of the work".

A DfI spokesperson said: "Given the potential legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage."

PA Media A blue sign which reads 'Welcome to Belfast Grand Central Station'PA Media
The dual language signage was due to be installed at the transport hub in south Belfast which opened last year

Translink has confirmed that design work on physical signage and on ticket vending machines has now also stopped.

It added: "The options to include Irish language on ticket vending machines would need to be further explored with the supplier.

"The options could include adding this to the current offering or making a substitute."

'Not a crisis'

Earlier, the DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the approval of Irish language signage at the station was not "a crisis" for the Stormont executive, adding that the minister "decided to squander" the money "in the absence of political discussion".

Robinson also said there were plans to amend the ticketing system to incorporate an Irish language option.

PA Media A man with white hair and black square spectacles is speaking on a stage in front of a pink screen. He is wearing a blue suit, pale blue tie and white shirtPA Media
The DUP leader Gavin Robinson argued that the decision to introduce Irish language signage "was made outside the legal parameters in which the executive should operate".

He said that would "require them to remove the foreign language options that are already inbuilt for tourists coming to Northern Ireland who don't have English as their first language", adding that was "a nonsense".

What is the row over Irish language signs at Grand Central Station?

The infrastructure minister's decision to introduce bilingual displays, including for passenger information and on ticket vending machines, came after criticism from Irish language campaigners when the new public transport hub opened in September.

Kimmins said she was "committed to the visibility and promotion of Irish language" and that it was important that Grand Central Station was "reflective of all citizens".

However, on Monday, DUP Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she would raise the issue at Thursday's executive meeting.

She said her party made "no apology" for asking questions about spending of public funds and that it was "unclear how this decision has been made".

Her party leader told BBC's Nolan Show that where "there are issues that are significant, cross-cutting or controversial, they should be brought to the executive for discussion".

"That is how we should be doing business."

The DUP leader confirmed that his party's ministers had written to Kimmins to ask whether she engaged in consultations including with Translink, before taking the decision.

He argued the decision "was made outside the legal parameters in which the executive should operate".

However, he said that "ultimately it will be for the courts" to decide on this.

What did Translink say earlier?

On Tuesday morning, Translink said that design work on additional use of Irish on physical signage and on ticket vending machines at Belfast Grand Central Station would "now begin following the announcement by the Department for Infrastructure".

"This is an extension of the multilingual welcome signage which is already in place at the station," a spokesperson added.

Speaking on Monday, Sinn Féin assembly member Declan Kearney emphasised that "the Irish language is now thriving in communities across the island", despite "a history of persecution and discrimination".

"That is reflected in the official recognition which it now enjoys both in the south and north of Ireland," he said.

"Sinn Féin fully supports the rights of Gaeilgeoirí (Irish speakers) as we continue to build a society underpinned by inclusion, rights and respect for all."

Last September, ahead of the opening of Grand Central Station, Irish language group An Dream Dearg criticised the decision not to use the Irish language on the station's main signage.

An Dream Dearg claimed the lack of Irish signage was against the wishes of the infrastructure minister, John O'Dowd of Sinn Féin, and Belfast City Council.

At the time, the Department for Infrastructure said O'Dowd was committed to the "visibility and promotion of Irish language across public services and in our society".