Hansard

As a Highlands and Islands representative, I realise Gaelic's potential to underpin the recovery of the north, the west and the islands, and realise that we cannot ensure that that heartland has the sustainable future that we want it to have simply by creating businesses. Communities must be created and people in those communities and in the cities must be given opportunities to speak the language that they choose to speak.

Last Monday night, I was at a Celtic Connections concert that celebrated the great Melbost bard, Murdo Macfarlane. The audience was very much made up of Gaels who now live in the central belt. Listening to so many people singing the songs' choruses was fantastic. When we realise that singing is at the heart of Gaelic culture, we realise that that culture is much more special than the experience of certain parts of our country where people are quite tongue tied. That evening made me realise that different parts of Scotland bring different values to our culture, but that that singing culture—the concert got a four-star review—is special. I experienced the joy and pleasure that people get from singing in their own language. People have to experience that for themselves. During the year of homecoming, members should ensure that they at least go to a Gaelic festival or meet up with friends who go to such festivals. I am sorry to preach to people from Gaelic families or those who already do such things, but we should tell the rest of the world about how great such things are.

The Gaelic language plan inevitably falls into the different categories that have been explained. Finding out how we can improve things institutionally will take a wee while, but it is obvious that many people who are not Gaels themselves have moved to the Gàidhealtachd—the Gaelic-speaking areas—and they want their children to participate. They have seen the enthusiasm of Gaelic-medium education teachers and require the back-up services that help parents to learn Gaelic so that they can keep up with their children. If we want to create a whole community, parents who do not speak Gaelic but give their children the chance to learn it must also receive support. We must think about the current education services.

I am interested in the work that has been done on the Gaelic plan for Highland Council. There is an aim to create local Gaelic development plans, which community councils or other interested bodies could take up. Getting people talking about such things at a local level is great. I bear the scars of the consultation process on the national planning framework and know about the criticisms that have been made of that. Gaelic can set a very good example in that context. Support for the language can be built from the bottom up by encouraging people in many parts of the country to see its relevance to their community. I give an example from the area that I represent. In Caithness, which is in the north part of the Highlands—some people would say that it is beyond the Highlands—there is a degree of a jagged edge, but the word "Caithness" is half Norse and half Gaelic. Therefore, some parts of Caithness will be interested in Gaelic. Indeed, there will be a Mod there in 2010, which will mean that there will be heightened interest in Gaelic there. We must try to encourage debate on supporting Gaelic at local level.

I, too, greatly welcome BBC Alba. Some constituents who I met on the north coast and in other places over the Christmas period said, "At last. I've got an environment in my home in which I can have Gaelic all day and evening." Such a service had not been available before. Thanks to the prevalence of television, they thought that they would start to notice a difference in how people live, as there is now parity of esteem that allows people to live their lives more through Gaelic than they were able to do before. That makes the investment in BBC Alba so important. We are talking about a small amount of money, but I hope that we can build on the service in the future.

It is obvious that the Gaelic language plan includes particular structural arrangements. In the Government's support policies for raising awareness and helping people to participate, it is clear that signage of all sorts, including road signs and logos, is important. At the moment, the cash-strapped nature of things makes it difficult for such improvements to be made to the trunk road network, let alone for its maintenance to be done. We have to find ways of telling people that the money to pay for such road signage comes from a different pot from that which pays for holes in the road to be filled in. That needs to be done carefully if we are to avoid people making the nasty, jagged comparisons that they tend to make in such cases. I hope that we can do that.

I turn to press coverage of Gaelic. Last week, I was saddened to read in a Scottish newspaper a letter from a gentleman in Ayr who wrote, in Scots, that far too much money goes to Gaelic and none to Scots. Let us make it clear: it is not a case of having the one or the other. Scots speakers need a different prescription from that which Gaelic speakers need. Unlike Gaelic, Scots was not legislated against. The Education Act 1872 outlawed Gaelic from our lives. It is true to say that Scots was treated as slang. That said, the prescription for the two languages is different, but they are not mutually exclusive. I beg the chamber to ensure that that is the message that we send out in the year of homecoming to those who are celebrating Robert Burns. For example, we should recognise the fact that Lewis Macdonald's father translated Burns into Gaelic. There is no dichotomy between the interest of Scots and that of Gaelic. Let us celebrate both cultures to the full.

I welcome this consensual debate. I support not only the motion, but the Labour amendment.