DUP Councillor questions "inclusive" events planned by Belfast City Council

A DUP Councillor has questioned the inclusivity of major events hosted by Belfast City Council.

At a Belfast City Council committee meeting, DUP Councillor for the Court area Ian McLaughlin held to task inclusivity objectives by council officers during an update on major tourism events coming to the city.

At the monthly meeting of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, officers gave details about Oireachtas 2025, an international Irish language festival to be held in Belfast next year, Belfast’s application to hold the Irish cultural festival the Fleadh Cheoil in Belfast in 2026, as well as plans for St Patrick’s Day 2025 in Belfast.

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Officers also talked about plans for the upcoming Christmas events in the city, for Lord Mayor's Day in Belfast next year, and for the Belfast Maritime Festival next year.

Councillor Ian McLaughlin told the chamber: “You will accuse me of being quite picky here, but I have to say this. In reading the list of major events, the only time I noticed the word “inclusive,” or "inclusive event,” was when reference was made to Lord Mayor’s Day, and the parade that takes place with that.

“If I was naive enough I would suggest that the vast majority of the other events listed aren’t meant to be inclusive, but could be viewed as exclusive. So if I could say one thing, it would be that if all these events were to be inclusive, we need to be reminding people at every single opportunity. So we do away with this thought that some of these events may well be exclusive.”

A council officer replied: “I want to reassure members that absolutely, this is the approach to all of our events, as outlined in our Make Yourselves at Home tourism strategy and our Cultural Strategy, is for everything to be inclusive by design at the outset.

“Apologies if there has been error with the wording in the report, and that will be clarified in future iterations.”

TUV Councillor for Court Ron McDowell said: “The last time we spoke about St Patrick’s Day here I wanted to impress that there were significant St Patrick’s Day events being held across the city that didn’t receive any funding from Belfast City Council. They took place in spite of the council and not because of them.

“The council seems to be propping up what still exists there, with an additional £20,000 for enhanced activity on Saturday March 9. I really need to impress the need to reach out into communities that are trying to embrace St Patrick, who are raising awareness of St Patrick. Communities who are celebrating St Patrick, as they identify with the day. And they shouldn’t be left behind.”

The council officer replied: “We will happily pick up a conversation around identifying who those community groups are, and we will reach out to them. There is also an uplift in marketing activity for St Patrick's Day.

“Likewise we uplifted this for Christmas activity, working with partners to make sure we are including community organisations who are doing Christmas activity. And that is the approach we would hope to take with St Patrick’s Day.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Tomás Ó Néill said: “The papers specifically say (we) facilitate, coordinate and deliver multiple cross-community arts workshops aimed to recruit 200 kids, plus participants from north, south, east and west Belfast. It’s pretty explicit there in the papers.

“On Ron’s point, I would happily see a St Patrick’s Day fund created across the city. I would love to see that. On Ian’s point, I have had as many invitations to all these events as I presume he has. So it is all up to us - we can all get involved or not choose to get involved.”

Councillors agreed for officers to make a report on a potential new £20,000 fund for “left-out” community groups across the city who have not received St Patrick’s Day funding before, but wish to avail of it in the future.

Alliance Councillor Fiona McAteer said: “On what Ian said about the events being inclusive, and that the only one that said it was the Lord Mayor’s Day - I think there is an onus on all of us to represent every single member of our community, regardless of where they come from or their background.

“We shouldn’t have to always say on paper that it is inclusive, because it is a given it is inclusive, and we are welcoming and open to everyone.”

Councillor Ian McLaughlin said: “In a society coming out of conflict such as ours, we need to constantly remind people when we are planning major events in Belfast, that they are inclusive. I won’t fall into the trap, to say that, while no one argues who won the 'the war', I think there is a pretty serious debate as to who won the peace.

“That peace is not perfect, and yes we all have a role to play in reminding people about the inclusivity of events. That is why we have to keep writing it in all of our paperwork, and reminding all of our citizens that whatever the event is planned by Belfast City Council, it is in fact designed to be inclusive.”

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