Gaelic organisations make urgent plea for funding

Most of the organisations behind the letter receive a significant proportion, if not all of their funding, from Bòrd na Gàidhlig but the letter states government funding allocated to the Bòrd “has remained static in nominal terms for some 15 years,” which equates to “a massive 48-50 per cent decline in real terms”.

It adds: “Many of the organisations below will have cut jobs in the last financial year due to the impact of this reduction at a time of rising costs, and will be considering the same again in the next year.”

On Wednesday September 4, First Minister John Swinney unveiled in his Programme for Government that sets out how his government will support Scotland’s culture sector and creative industries, and promised more funding for Creative Scotland.

While this support may benefit Gaelic organisations who receive funding from Creative Scotland, Donald MacNeill, Chief Executive at Commun na Gàidhlig, said the situation has remained unchanged for non-arts based initiatives and the sentiment of the letter still stands.

He said: “Some of the letter’s signatories might be more relaxed about parts of their funding but those funded by Bòrd na Gàidhlig are not.

“It’s too easy for Gaelic development to be ignored and we believe that Gaelic is still severely underfunded.”

In April this year government ministers pulled a U-turn on a decision to cut £354,000 to Bòrd na Gàidhlig, which threatened 27 Gaelic officer jobs, after major backlash from the Highlands and Islands.

Arguments to increase the levels of investment in Gaelic development have been made many a time before but the letter says that “the debate has been moved on” by the acknowledgment of the grave situation by the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee. 

Just over a month ago, the committee’s stage one report on the Scottish Languages Bill labelled the state of Gaelic as “perilous” and concluded that the bill was “not enough” to rescue the language which is poised on a knife-edge.

The latest census data from 2022 did show an increase in the number of people in Scotland with Gaelic skills but this was paired with a decline in the language’s heartland.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Since 2020, the Scottish Government has spent more than £120 million on initiatives to support the use of Gaelic, with census data published this year showing a rise in Gaelic speakers for the first time in over 50 years.

“The Scottish Languages Bill will build on this progress by introducing standards for teaching Gaelic in schools and improving access to Gaelic early learning and childcare services.

“The Deputy First Minister’s appointment as Scotland’s first Cabinet Secretary for Gaelic is a further sign of this Government’s determination to preserve Gaelic as a vital part of our culture at a time of extremely challenging budgets.”