# The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations bring into force specified provisions of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 (c. 45) (“the 2022 Act”). These are the third commencement regulations made under the 2022 Act.
Sections 1 to 3 of the 2022 Act were partially commenced for the purposes of inserting specified sections into the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) (“the 1998 Act”) by the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 (Commencement) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/566). Regulation 2 of these Regulations further commences parts of sections 1 to 3 of the 2022 Act, for the purposes of establishing national and cultural language principles, establishing the functions of the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, recognising the status of the Irish language, establishing the functions of the Irish Language Commissioner (including Irish language best practice standards and the review of best practice standards), establishing the functions of the Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster Scots tradition and defining what constitutes a “public authority”, as provided for in the 2022 Act. This will insert sections 78F, 78H, 78J, 78L, 78M, 78N, 78Q, 78S and 78U into the 1998 Act.
A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/75/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/identity-and-language-northern-ireland-act-2022-commencement-no-3-regulations-2026/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.