The Northern Ireland Placenames Project has lost its funding after a transfer between government departments. The project began in 1987 to research and record Irish-language versions of place names across Northern Ireland. Councils and public bodies used its database for bilingual signage and street name translations.

The project moved from the Department of Finance to the Department for Communities in 2022. Finance officials agreed to fund it for three years during the transition. They expected Communities to include it in their regular budget afterward.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, from the DUP, stated that funding responsibility lay with the Department of Finance. Sinn Fein accused Lyons and his department of letting the project end through inaction. DUP members pointed to Sinn Fein ministers who handled the 2022 transfer.

Then-Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey noted in a January 2022 meeting that her department had no budget available for the project. The transfer proceeded with temporary funding instead of a permanent plan.

Communities officials warned internally about the political sensitivity of the project. They highlighted risks of losing the database and wasting prior investments. They sought emergency funds from Finance while preparing reviews.