Hansard

On occasions such as this, I feel inadequate in that I do not speak the Gaelic language. However, in the past, Liberal Democrat members have been fluent—well, John Farquhar Munro was a keen advocate of the language. On one occasion when he was delivering his contribution to a debate, the interpretation went silent, so George Lyon, another former colleague of mine, made a point of order to ask whether something was technically incorrect. However, it was not; it was just that the interpreter could not understand a word that John Farquhar Munro was saying. Such is, perhaps, the diversity of the language.

I am grateful to the Deputy First Minister for piloting the bill, because—to answer the points that Michael Marra made—it has given a new focus and energy to the revitalisation of the Gaelic language. We were pretty underwhelmed by the bill when we started. It is pretty minimalist. Ross Greer is right to say that it has improved, but the reality is that if we are relying on just the bill to revitalise the language, we will fail. I was grateful that the Deputy First Minister recognised that. If she had started the process, this would not be her bill; she would be doing something much more substantial, together with the wider plan that she has instigated in other areas.

We know that we are in a crisis. There is a real determination from many, but that might not be enough. We saw from the witnesses who gave evidence to the committee that there were pretty strong views and tensions. On some occasions, it was just as well that the witnesses sat with somebody in between them, because they felt so strongly about the language and its importance.

Like Ross Greer, I am incredibly grateful for the support of the bill team. Not only are its members outstanding; they care deeply about the language. That gives me confidence that we will be able to move forward and make progress.

The language used to be suppressed by the state. Now, it is supported by the state and elevated by the state. However, just when the state is behind the language, people are neglecting it in their communities and moving away from it. That should alarm us. Although we are getting the language expanded and spread across Scotland in schools, when it comes to the pub, the cafe or the home, people do not use the language daily in the way that we would like it to be used. It should not be peripheral but central to their lives. We need a critical mass to make that happen, and extra support in communities will be required to give it critical mass and enhanced credibility so that it does not retreat further.

A bizarre knock-on effect of spreading Gaelic-medium education into our cities is that there is now a shortage of Gaelic-medium education teachers in many schools in traditional Gaelic-speaking areas. It is bizarre—extraordinary, in some ways—that the very communities that we are trying to help are being damaged by that expansion across the country. We therefore need to make sure that we give the right support in our traditional communities.

I am pleased that the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig amendment was passed, and I hope that the college will be given enhanced and elevated status so that it becomes a national centre. I am pleased that we are moving towards a simplified process for designating Gaelic-medium education schools.

I am particularly interested in the potential of the Gàidhealtachd—the areas of linguistic significance. On the surface, the concept is pretty vacuous and might not mean an awful lot, unless local authorities and communities really get behind it. My hope is that it will be a central gathering point for the energy for change, so that the retreat is reversed and progress is enhanced.

Finally, I am also pleased about the enhancement, for the first time, for Scots. It is an important part of our community and society and we should be supporting it.