evidence: Legislation negotiated by the Irish and British governments two years ago has received Royal Assent and will officially become law, giving official status to the Irish language for the first time in Northern Ireland. [...] The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill passed through the House of Lords and House of Commons in October and has now become law after it received royal assent from King Charles on Tuesday. The legislation includes a commitment to establish the office of an Irish language commissioner and an Ulster Scots commissioner, to provide official recognition of the status of the Irish language and to repeal the Penal Law-era Administration of Justice (Language) Act 1737 which forbade the use of Irish in the courts.