Policing board holds first meeting in Irish

Northern Ireland's first Policing Board meeting to be held completely in Irish will take place tonight in Londonderry.

It is the first of four such meetings that will be held across the province and comes in response to a number of requests made at the last public meeting held in the North West.

The meeting — at the City Hotel at 7.30pm — will see an invited audience of Irish speakers quiz Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie and Policing Board members on current and future policing issues and the procedures the PSNI have put in place to help make policing more accessible to the Irish-speaking community.

The meeting has been welcomed by Foyle MLA Martina Anderson, who has called it a "significant step forward in terms of the equality agenda".

The Sinn Fein MLA has said that the first meeting of the Policing Board to be conducted through Irish is a historic step forward in terms of equality for the Irish language community.

Ms Anderson said: “The Policing Board will hold a special meeting in the City Hotel tomorrow night at 7.30pm which will be held entirely through the medium of Irish.”

“This is significant step forward in terms of the equality agenda and recognition of the needs of the Irish language community and needs to be welcomed.

“The meeting will be the first of four meetings held across the North where the business will be conducted in Irish.

“The Irish language community needs to be recognised by all statutory agencies and treated as equals and this meeting is recognition by the Policing Board of that right.

“This series of meetings is part of the programme of outreach by the PSNI to the Irish language community for a better understanding and relationship with that community. Translation services will be available for people who want to raise issues so people should come along and participate in this historic occasion.”

Gearoid O hEara, who is chairing the meeting and is an independent board member, said: “I am very happy with the policing response to this issue and I am confident they are taking it seriously. The fact they are going to come and engage with the Irish language community through the medium of their own language is a very good start."

Belfast Telegraph