 In Northern Ireland, English is the de facto official language, but official recognition is afforded to Irish, including specific protective measures under Part III of the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].A lesser status (including recognition under Part II of the Charter) is given to [[Ulster Scots dialects]], which are spoken by roughly 2% of Northern Ireland residents, and also spoken by some in the Republic of Ireland.Since the 1960s with the increase in immigration, many more languages have been introduced, particularly deriving from Asia and Eastern Europe.