Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland
Commenting on an answer he received from the Education Minister recently TUV North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston said:
“While there are those who claim that there is no evidence of mass immigration in Northern Ireland, this is another set of data which exposes the truth. Every penny spent by the Education Authority on translation costs for pupils who do not speak English is money which has to be diverted from other pressing needs within our schools.
“The rapid growth of the spend is shocking. I requested data over a five-year period and discovered that the total has more than tripled from £44,000 in 2020/2021 to £139,000 in 2024/25. Additionally, there has been a rapid expansion in the diversity of languages over the period.
“Arabic is the most expensive language, costing the Education Authority £13,887 in 2020/2021 and £33,214 in 2022/2023.
“Romanian is placing a heavy burden on the EA, with the cost of translators for the language increasing some 260% over the last five years, while Bulgarian is up 192%. Spend on Farsi translators has ballooned by 1,169%.
“This surge in demand reflects rapid demographic change across Northern Ireland.
“The figures are a snapshot of long-term costs of immigration policies which are failing and simply aren’t putting the people whose parents and grandparents have paid into the system for years first. Hard-pressed taxpayers are having to fund an education system which must operate in dozens of foreign languages.
“Over the five-year period covered by my question, interpreters were required for over 30 different languages including Somali, Pashto, Vietnamese and Kurdish. The presence of so many distinct language groups not only places financial strain on the education system but raises serious questions about integration in the long term.
“We need to urgently move to a migration system which works and is common sense. A basic starting point should be an expectation that people who are permitted to remain in the UK speak English and it doesn’t end up being a costly afterthought and burden on our education system.”
Note to editors
You can read Mr Gaston’s question and the answer received here.