A UNIONIST Councillor has claimed that “the pan-nationalist front is alive and well in this Chamber,” following a vote that will see Fermanagh and Omagh District Council use English and Irish branding on its vehicles, stationary and signage.

Ulster Scots will be included on the Ardhowen Theatre and Strule Arts Centre signage.

The Shadow Council had a £50,000 budget for branding.

These photos show – for the first time – how Council vehicles and signs will look when that new purple branding is applied. They also reveal the new Council logo; a purple shield containing a depiction of Fermanagh’s lakelands and Omagh’s Sperrin mountains.

The Council is in the process of agreeing its Linguistic Diversity Action Plan, which requires decisions on branding, spoken language, written correspondence and street naming.

In early December, eight unionist councillors used a new call-in procedure which allows 15 per cent of the members of the council to have a decision reconsidered. Their move followed the decision to use English and Irish branding, with Council uniforms only carrying the Council’s logo.

At last Wednesday’s Council meeting in Enniskillen Townhall, UUP Councillor Alex Baird proposed that the tri-lingual branding be adopted. He was seconded by UUP Omagh Town Councillor Chris Smith.

Councillor Baird said that “there’s no hierarchy between Irish and Ulster Scots in the draft Linguistic Diversity Plan.” He said it would be “fair and equitable to use English, Irish and Ulster Scots”, adding: “I realise that there is a nationalist majority on this Council but I am asking for mutual respect.” In response Sinn Féin Councillor Martin McColgan said: “I believe there’s a lot of scope in the Linguistic Diversity Plan for the development of Irish and Ulster Scots. It’s not that we ignored anything; we’ve got Ulster Scots signage at the two arts centres.” He proposed that the Council accept bi-lingual branding on signage, vehicles and stationary. This then became the substantive motion which the Council voted on; 22 for and 14 against.

Councillor Baird then asked Diversity Champion Debbie Coyle: “How does non-inclusion of Ulster Scots on vehicles and signage square up with that [diversity] policy?” In response, Robert Gibson (Acting Chief Executive in Brendan Hegarty’s absence) replied: “The Council’s diversity policy does seek to support minority languages but it doesn’t have to be proportionate.” Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Baird told The Impartial Reporter: “I am very disappointed. I wasn’t really expecting Sinn Fein to do anything else but someone said to me, and I agree: ‘The pan-nationalist front is alive and well in this Chamber.’” He added: “Yes they are not on par, but including Ulster Scots would not damage Irish.” Councillor Coyle commented: “I think that the decision on Wednesday was the right decision to make. It didn’t exclude anybody. The unionists supported that very same policy in Fermanagh District Council. In fact, what went through was an addition, because we’ve actually included Ulster Scots in the two arts and cultural centres.” She added: “The new Council will develop an Irish language policy and an Ulster Scots policy. If it turns out that the people of Fermanagh and Omagh want more, that will come back to the Council in the implementation plan, and we will take it from there.” For more updates, photographs and debate follow The Impartial Reporter on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/impartialreporter And on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/impartialrep