CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed plans to officially recognise Irish-speaking areas in the north for the first time – but warn there are "serious question marks" over funding amid Stormont's collapse.
Belfast and Carntogher in Co Derry are among five areas across Ireland that have been chosen by cross-border body Foras na Gaeilge to apply for formal status as 'Irish language network' communities.
It will be the first time Irish-speaking communities outside of the south's Gaeltacht areas will have official recognition.
But while the Dublin government has set aside funding to support the areas in the south, no money has been agreed north of the border.
Northern Ireland has not had a power-sharing government in place for the past year amid political deadlock.
The latest round of talks to restore power-sharing collapsed with Sinn Féin and the DUP clashing over calls for an Irish language act.
Conradh na Gaeilge's Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh said Belfast and Carntogher's inclusion in the networks programme is "an endorsement of the fantastic and pioneering work being done on the ground".
But he added: "Whilst we welcome the funds that have been made available to draft the language plans, serious question marks remain over long-term investment required for the northern groups to adequately implement agreed language plans."
He said Foras na Gaeilge should "reassure the groups on the ground that they will be afforded the same resources to fully implement these plans as is afforded to the networks south of the border".
Pobal's Janet Muller said support for the Irish language networks scheme must not be "repackaged" funding.
"It is crucial not only that there are answers about what funding there will be for groups in the north, but also that the funding will be additional."
Sinn Féin senator Niall Ó Donnghaile welcomed the networks scheme as "another achievement that the Irish-language speakers in the north should be proud of".
"Now is the time to legally protect the Irish language through the introduction of an acht gaeilge," he said.
