Meeting of the Parliament 24 April 2018
Thank you, Presiding Officer. The point that I was trying to make is about where we should encourage demand and build on existing demand rather than just say, “No—we’re not going to do it.” If there is demand, we should encourage it. However, we have to ensure that when we are encouraging expansion of Gaelic education, as in Portree, we do not allow concerns from some quarters to suggest that investment in Gaelic schools is to the detriment of investment in other facilities in the area. We must ensure that Gaelic is seen as a way of uniting rather than dividing communities.
I am mindful of the time that I have left, so I will just say that I am proud of the enduring contribution that my party has made to securing the future of Gaelic by funding the first Gaelic-medium units, as well as by introducing the Gaelic television fund. Those measures were ambitious, but practical—an approach that the Scottish Government would, to my mind, be wise to maintain.
The debate is also a timely reminder for the Scottish Government to act on its commitment, which was made 10 years ago, to ensure that by the 2021 census, the proportion of Gaelic speakers is back up to 2001 levels at the very least. Let us aim high and ensure that the ambition of all the parties across the chamber is to increase use of Gaelic across Scotland
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