Hansard

I will limit my Gaelic introduction to those few words—a hurtful friend from Berneray asked me whether I was trying to speak Japanese in Alasdair Allan's recent members' business debate.

Despite limited personal progress in canan nan Gaidheal—the tongue of the Gael—the general revival of the language and culture is impressive, but there is still much snobbishness around. I recall the story of a Sassenach who rubbished Gaelic in a bar in Portree: "And why is there no Gaelic word for television?" he demanded, "or photograph, or helicopter?" The bartender confessed, "You're right. We Gaels use the Greek words—just like you do in English."

Of course, Gaelic is one of the oldest languages in Europe and, like English, it happily borrows words from other languages when they convey modern concepts succinctly, but that does not mean that the language is in any way inferior or less worthy of support. I would argue similarly in support of the Scottish tongue, which Robert Burns called a dialect and which the minister prefers to call a language—but let us not argue about nomenclature.

I also welcome the opportunity to commend the Government for its commitment to expand provision of the richly diverse mode of communication that is Scots. Any society is poorer and its culture diminished when it loses any of its traditional means of expression: that applies as much to Scots as it does to Gaelic.

Scottish Conservatives have nothing to apologise for in our commitment to Gaelic language and culture. The then Tory Secretary of State for Scotland, Malcolm Rifkind, provided back in 1990 £8 million annually to set up the Gaelic television fund. That sum has now matured into the £12.4 million that the Scottish Government contributes to BBC Alba. The new Gaelic channel has been extremely successful in its first few months and has regularly attracted more than 600,000 viewers. We remain convinced that the best way to maintain and strengthen Gaelic is through the twin pillars of education and broadcasting.

We note that a number of public authorities are preparing or implementing Gaelic language plans, that four of those have received formal approval from Bòrd na Gàidhlig—the official body for promoting the language—and that the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament are among those that are currently implementing Gaelic language plans. We welcome the Government's own draft plan and are happy to take part in the consultation.

However, although we support the promotion of Gaelic where appropriate—that includes all the bodies that are preparing Gaelic language plans—we believe that it would not be sensible to force Gaelic on to reluctant communities. That is all the more important during the current economic downturn. There is much good will towards Gaelic: as we have heard, there has been a vast increase in the number of pupils who access Gaelic-medium primary education, not least in the central belt, and we recognise Glasgow's huge Gaelic population. We would not like to see that good will dissipated by spending commitments in communities that have no immediate connections to, or sympathy with, the culture.

We should remember that many schools throughout Scotland, including some that are within minutes of Parliament, are in a shocking state of disrepair, with councils claiming that they do not have the funds to bring them up to basic standards. Any spending on what may be perceived as non-essential initiatives outwith the bodies that are already committed to Gaelic language plans could work against the successful future that we rightly seek for the language and culture.

Although we generally welcome the Scottish Government's proposals, ministers should recall that there is no native Gaelic speaker who does not also understand English. Of course, we want the language to flourish and to be given the same respect as English, and it is desirable that certain front-of-house staff in Government reception areas are conversant in Gaelic. Let the Government, by all means, try to recruit more Gaelic-speaking staff where Gaelic is an add-on to other required qualifications, but it must avoid provoking any kind of resentment from the non-Gaelic or cosmopolitan community. For example, we are less convinced that fluent Gaelic speakers should be available on tap, as seems to be suggested in the draft Gaelic language plan, to answer public queries in Government offices. My advice to the minister in this context is—in the Scottish idiom—to ca canny.

Creative Scotland should be encouraged to build on the excellent Gaelic work that has been done over the years by the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen.

Visit Scotland also has a key role in promoting tourism through the language and culture of the Gael. Few will object to official brochures, press releases and the like being printed in Gaelic as well as English and we should, of course, let the Government work towards a bilingual corporate logo. Gaelic deserves an increased profile in Scottish public life after centuries of discrimination. However, let us be sensible and realistic in our aims and objectives.

Finally, I would like to say another word about BBC Alba. I have watched many hours of its programming, including—I must declare an interest here—a little documentary of my own, which went out on hogmanay, about the sinking of the troop-ship Iolaire off Stornoway in 1919. I think that the new channel does a great job, including the promotion of Gaelic song and music. However, as a matter of urgency—as the minister herself has said—the BBC trust must allow the channel to compete on equal terms with other mainstream television providers and must not be limited only to those who have satellite dishes. BBC Alba can play a key role in introducing non-Gaels to the language, which will be a vital part of the continuing revival.

This point is not for lengthy reiteration this afternoon, but I remain convinced that, further down the road, a key ingredient in turning the language round will be immersion education in the Gaelic heartlands. Such strategies have been shown to work in Ireland and Wales, and I am sure that they would work in the Gàidhealtachd as well. That argument is for another day.

I welcome the Scottish Government's draft Gaelic plan, with the provisos that I have outlined. We shall be supporting the motion and Pauline McNeill's amendment this afternoon.