Irish 'should threaten no-one'

Mr Poots has opposed the introduction of an Irish language act

Culture Minister Edwin Poots has said he believes the Irish language should threaten no-one.

He was speaking at his first Irish language event, a conference organised by Irish speakers group Pobal.

The DUP MLA said he is keen to promote a shared heritage, but he has no plans to introduce Irish language legislation.

Mr Poots has previously said it would be too expensive to implement an Irish language act.

The Irish Language Act was promised to Sinn Fein by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair at the St Andrew's talks in 2006.

However, the act is now the responsibility of the Executive, and requires cross-community consensus.

The conference was organised by Pobal to discuss a strategy for promoting the language.

Pobal representative Janet Muller said it was important to develop a comprehensive Irish language policy.

Welsh and Scottish language representatives are also attending the conference, as well as a member of a European body for regional and minority languages.