Feumar seanal na Gàidhlig​​​​​​​ a chur air bunait nas seasmhaiche

Anns an là a th’ ann le poileataigs cho suarach, chan eil mòran rudan a tharraingeas taic thar phàrtaidh, agus le sin, bu chòir fàilte a chur air an deasbad a chaidh a chumail ann an Taigh nan Cumantan a thaobh seanal na Gàidhlig agus Bile nam Meadhanan.

Sheall rannsachadh gu bheil luach eaconamaigeach ann am prògraman na Gàidhlig, mar An Clò Mòr, a chaidh a chlàradh ann an Leòdhas is na Hearadh.

[English-language version below]

Ach, chan eil càil a mhath a bhith ro dhòigheil mu dheidhinn ro fhada, bhon as e an t-aon adhbhar a bhathas ga dheasbad idir gu bheil na h-uimhir a dhragh mu dheidhinn, gu sònraichte nuair a thig e gu ionmhas.

Chaidh BBC ALBA a stèidheachadh ann an 2008 le buidsead de £14 millean. Ach, gu cudromach, cha deach a-riamh a cheangal ri ìre na h-atmhorachd, agus ged a tha £24 millean aca an-diugh, nam biodh cùisean air leantainn mar bu chòir, bhiodh iad ann an suidheachadh tòrr mòr na b' fhallaine.

Ach, an àite sin, tha aca ri strì ri dith airgid agus aig àm nuair a tha feum a dhol an sàs ann an margaidhean ùra mar an eadar-lìon is seirbheisean digiteach eile. Cha robh e a-riamh cho duilich luchd-amhairc a thàladh agus tha sin cho fìor mu dheidhinn na Gàidhlig ‘s a tha mu chàil sam bith eile.

Ann am bileag fiosrachaidh a sgaoil MG ALBA gu na buill-Phàrlamaid ron deasbad, thuirt iad am gum bu chòir don Bhile “reachdas ainichte a thoirt dha seirbheis telebhisein Gàidhlig agus an t-ionmhas a shoilleireachadh”.

Bha a leithid a' ghealltanais, thuirt iad, ann an òraid na Rìgh agus anns a' Phàipear Gheal ach airson adhbhar a choireigin, chan eil sgeul air a-nis.

Tharraing iad coimeas le suidheachadh na Cuimrigh far a bheil an seanal ann an sin, S4C, a’ faighinn £89 millean agus àite gu leòr anns a' Bhile. Fiù ‘s a’ gabhail ris gu bheil fada a bharrachd luchd-labhairt na Cumris ann, tha mi-chothromas ann an sin.

Às dèidh ceistean bho bhuill-Phàrlamaid Albannach, thuirt rùnaire a' chultair, nam meadhanan is spòrs, Lucy Fraser, gun do dh’aontaich iad “oifigearan Riaghaltas na h-Alba is am BBC a thoirt còmhla gus bruidhinn mu dheidhinn a bhith a’ co-òrdanachadh co-dhùnaidhean airgid mu chraoladh na Gàidhlig”.

Mar a thuirt ball nan Eilean Siar, Aonghas MacNìll, ‘s dòcha gur ann le deagh rùn a tha seo “ach ‘s e a tha a dhìth ach cothromachadh le suidheachadh na Cuimrigh”.

Thuirt ball Rois, an Eilein Sgitheanaich is Loch Abar Iain Blackford, “Tha suidheachadh craoladh na Gàdhlig gu math nas miosa na tha daoine a’ smaoineachadh, bhon a bhios an t-airgead a bhios aca ann an 2027 50% nas lugha na bha e ann an 2008. Tha cunnart mòr san àm ri teachd.”

B’ e na Tòraidhean nuair a bha Mìcheal Forsyth na Rùnaire Stàite anns na 1990an a chruthaich an suidheachadh a thug dhuinn seanal Gàidhlig nuair a chuir e Comataidh Telebhisean na Gàidhlig air chois le buidseat de £9 millean, suim mhòr dha-rìribh aig an àm agus a thug an cothrom dhan Ghàidhlig dearbhadh gum b’ fhiach e.

Chan eil an rud a thathas ag iarraidh air a’ phàrtaidh aige an-diugh faisg cho mòr: dìreach dèanamh cinnteach gun tig an dìleab sin a dhìon agus gum faighear air cumail a’ dol.

English-language version:

In this day and age of febrile politics, there are few issues that can enjoy the fruits of cross-party support. So in that respect, it was gratifying to hear the House of Commons debate Gaelic television provision during the second reading of the Media Bill. But any sense of satisfaction can only be of the very superficial kind as the only reason Scotland’s minority language was being discussed at all was in terms of future fears, specifically that of funding support.

BBC Alba was launched in 2008, a major step forward for the visibility and profile of the language, with a budget of £14 million, provided by BBC Scotland and, from the Scottish and UK governments, through MG Alba. However, crucially, it was never index-linked, and while the channel today has a total spend of around £24 million that funding could, and arguably should, have been far greater, had all things being equal.

Instead, those overseeing the service are now having to battle with a diminishing pot and all the while having to embrace the brave new world of digital platforms and online, with the competition for audience space greater than it’s ever been – as true of attracting a Gaelic audience as any other.

The briefing supplied by MG Alba ahead of the second reading of the Media Bill called for a clear determination in the legislation giving “statutory recognition of a Gaelic TV service and to clarify funding mechanisms”. Such a commitment, they said, was contained in the King’s Speech and in the White Paper but somewhere along the line had been dropped, a “striking omission”, says MG Alba and its political supporters.

Not unfairly, they point to the situation in Wales where the Welsh equivalent S4C enjoys a budget of £89 million and for which extensive provision has been made in the Bill. Even accepting that there are far more speakers of Welsh than Gaelic, that’s still a gross imbalance. Under questioning from Scottish MPs, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lucy Faser, said that they have agreed to “bring together the BBC and Scottish Government officials to discuss the coordination of funding decisions for Gaelic language production between the two organisations”.

As Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP Angus MacNeil said, her response “no doubt comes from a good place”, but what’s really needed is clear provision, “similar to that for Welsh”. Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP Ian Blackford added: “The situation that Gaelic broadcasting is now facing is even worse than people might consider, because in real terms the funding available for MG Alba will, by 2027, be 50 per cent of what it was in 2008. We are facing an existential threat to the survival of Gaelic broadcasting.”

It was the Tories, specifically the then Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth, that paved the way for a channel back in the 1990s with the formation of the Gaelic Television Committee with funding of £9 million, a massive amount back then and which helped minority language broadcasting to prove its worth to the nation. What’s being asked of his party successors is far more modest: simply to ensure that that legacy is continued and protected.