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The Bank of Ireland is not treating its customers in Northern
Ireland with equality. This has come about through the recognition
that the Bank has opted to put the Irish language as well
as English on many cash machines.
The difficulty that I as an Ulster-Scot have, along with
many customers and even some members of staff, is that inclusion
of Irish appears to be a political and cultural stance which
excludes us.
In the Northern Ireland of today many of us work very hard
to create a society where there is fairness and where everyone
of whatever background is treated equally. The Belfast Agreement
called this parity of esteem and equality and it recognises
that Irish and Ulster-Scots represent the two major identities
on this island. Whether one agrees with the Belfast Agreement
or not is not the issue. The concept of equality has been
given legal force in Section 75 of the Government of Northern
Ireland Act and is also supported by Article 14 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
When the Bank of Ireland decided to offer Irish and not Ulster-Scots
as well they were making a cultural and political statement.
The Dublin-based Bank told me that they only offered Irish
where there was a demand. This will be a surprise to residents
in East Belfast to learn that the Bank has decided to include
Irish at Connswater and at Castlereagh. I know of no case
of people in that area being only able to speak Irish and
not understanding English - so the Dublin officials in the
Bank have made a political judgement by including Irish in
East Belfast but not Ulster-Scots. I am sure that the same
point could be made for other areas of Northern Ireland such
as Ballyclare where again the Bank has included Irish but
not Ulster-Scots.
This action was not taken by some ill-informed small company
but by a major part of the Irish Establishment controlled
from the Republic. The effect is to show that the Bank clearly
values its Irish customers more than those who are not Irish.
I have no difficulty in a profit-led organisation taking
a political, cultural stand. But I think that those in the
society in which the Bank operates and draws profit are entitled
to know the facts and be allowed to draw their own conclusions
and act appropriately.
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