A new Northern Ireland Life and Times survey has found that over half of adults believe the Northern Ireland Executive should do more to encourage and promote the Irish language.

The survey of 1,244 people aged 18 and over was carried out between 26 September and 14 December 2025. It asked about a range of subjects including artificial intelligence, community relations and gender-based violence.

On Irish, 25 per cent strongly agreed and 20 per cent agreed that the Executive should do more. A further 21 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed, while 16 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed, and two per cent said they did not know.

More than half also said Irish adds to the richness and diversity of Northern Ireland. Similarly, over half agreed that learning Irish in the school curriculum is beneficial for children, with 23 per cent strongly agreeing and 22 per cent agreeing.

The survey recorded that 22 per cent of respondents described themselves as speaking Irish, either fully or to some extent. Forty-one per cent said they would be very interested or somewhat interested in learning or improving their Irish.

When asked how they would prefer to learn, 68 per cent chose informal education, which included community classes, language cafés and local courses. Online courses, apps and visits to the Gaeltacht were also popular.

On the use of Irish in public life, 40 per cent said they wanted to see more Irish in public spaces, official documents, street signs and broadcasting. Twenty-one per cent wanted the same amount as now, seven per cent said a little less, 22 per cent said a lot less, and ten per cent did not know.

Regarding identity, 27 per cent said Irish was very important or fairly important to their identity. Twenty-four per cent said it was neither important nor unimportant, 11 per cent said fairly unimportant, and 37 per cent said very unimportant. One per cent did not know.

Full survey results are available on the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey website.