Agenda and minutes

Apologies for inability to attend were reported on behalf of Alderman McCoubrey.

            No Declarations of Interest were reported.

            The information contained in the reports associated with the following two item is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the members of the press and public from the meeting during discussion of the following items as, due to the nature of the items, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            The Members were also reminded that the content of ‘restricted’ reports and any discussion which took place during closed session must be treated as ‘confidential information’ and that no such information should be disclosed to the public as per Paragraph 4.15 of the Code of Conduct.  

            The City Solicitor/Director of Legal and Civic Services submitted a report which addressed a number of proposed amendments to the draft Irish Language Policy that had been tabled at the Committee meeting on 19th September for consideration.  She then outlined the response to each of these in turn.

Proposal

Moved by Councillor Ó Néill,

Seconded by Councillor R-M Donnelly,

      That the Committee:

(i)             Notes the contents of the report including the documentation presented to the Committee at its previous meetings in August and September -

SP&R Committee - 22 August 2025

                  SP&R Committee - 19 September 2025

(ii)            Notes that the policy as presented to Committee on 19th September was agreed subject to consideration of the proposed amendments tabled at the meeting;

(iii)        Agrees to the following proposed amendments:

·       Under Paragraph 15 “Belfast City Council will adopt a new bilingual (Irish/English) corporate identity and logo, having due regard to international best practice for minority languages, to reflect this commitment”;

·       The proposed amendments outlined in the report under paragraphs 14, 19 and 24 would be detailed in the Implementation Plan; and

·       The development of an Educational Programme be included in the Implementation Plan and that a report be submitted to a future meeting in relation to the FLOURISH project.

            On a vote, fourteen Members voted for the proposal and four against and it was declared carried.

The Committee also noted that a final version of the policy, taking into account the agreed amendments, would be appended to the minutes of the meeting for the purposes of ratification at Council.  

            The Committee considered a report and presentation that provided information on governance, engagement, planning and the delivery to support the hosting of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast in August 2026.

            During discussion, the Strategic Director of Place and Economy advised that Members feedback in relation to ground footprint, accommodation, engagement with businesses, communities and inner city residents would be considered.

            In relation to a Member’s question regarding engagement with the Irish Language community in Belfast, the Director of the City Solicitor/Director of Legal and Civic Services advised that this could be considered under the Council’s Irish Language Stakeholders Forum. 

The Committee noted the plans associated with the hosting of the Fleadh and that monthly updates on the event would be provided to the Committee.

The Committee:

·       noted the additional information provided and approved the original request - i.e. modification of the existing contract to include an extension of up to 3 months at a cost of up to £34,000; and

·       agreed to proceed with an economic appraisal in respect of the in-housing of the skip haulage contract and approved a budget of up to £30k to conduct the study.

            In accordance with Standing Order 14, the Committee agreed, as the meeting had been held later than seven clear days before the meeting of the Council, that the minutes of the meeting be submitted to the Council on 1st October, 2025, for ratification.