Tha Murray MacLeòid ag ràdh gu bheil clàr ùr fearainn na cheum air an t-slighe ceart

Bidh an clàr ùr air fearann an urra ris a’ bhuidheann Clàraidhean na h-Alba

Le clàr ùr mu fhearann na h-Alba ga chur air bhog air a’ chiad là dhen Ghiblean, bidh cuid an dòchas nach bi ann ach gòcaireachd nach seas.

[English-language version below]

Cha b’ àbhaist co-dhiù dha cus ìmpidh phoileataigeach a bhith ann airson solas cruaidh an là a chur air cò leis a tha oighreachdan na h-Alba, agus gu leòr a dhaoine beartach airson cùisean fhàgail san dorchdas. Chan eil mòran nas fheàrr na fearann airson d’ airgead a chur air falach ann an cunntasan thall-thairis no a-staigh do dh’urrasan prìobhaideach, air falbh bho Bhodach nan Cìsean.

Ach, bhon an-diugh (Dihaoine) chan eil sin cho furasta. Tha clàr nan daoine aig a bheil ùidh no smachd air fearann a-nis ri fhaighinn gu poblach agus e a’ toirt a' chothroim dha duine sam bith faighinn a-mach cò iad a tha a’ dèanamh co-dhùnaidhean timcheall fearainn.

Tha laigsean ann agus chan eil e gu bhith cho coileanta ‘s a bhathar an dòchas, ach ‘s e ceum air adhart a tha ann a thaobh soillearachaidh.

Tha na h-argamaidean mu ana-ceartas ann an siostam fearann na h-Alba aithnichte: tha an dàrna leth den fhearran san dùthaich ann an làmhan 500 duine a-mhàin, an siostam as miosa san t-saoghal leasaichte, a rèir an Ollaimh Sheumais Mhic an t-Sealgair

A thuilleadh air eisimpleir no dhà anns na sgìrean croitearachd, gu h-àraidh anns na h-Eileanan an Iar, chan eil ath-leasachadh an fhearainn air a bhith cho adhartach ‘s a bhathar an dùil, bho thàinig Pàrlamaid na h-Alba gu buil bho chionn còrr air fichead bliadhna. Chan eil aon choimhearsnachd air an oighreachd a ghabhail os làimh bho 2015.

Chan eil, tha fhios, uachdranas coimhearsnachd na fhreagairt ann fhèin. Sa chiad àite, feumaidh tu coimhearsnachd a tha beò agus le daoine a tha deònach eadar-dhealachadh a dhèanamh, agus fiù ‘s aig a sin, tha an aon duilgheadas ann a thaobh an oighreachd a dhèanamh prothaideil.

Ach, an rud a tha e a’ toirt dhut, ‘s e soillearachadh, gach cuid ann an cò tha a’ dèanamh nan co-dhùnaidhean agus carson – agus mura h-eil a’ choimhearsnachd san fharsaingeachd toilichte le sin, tha dòigh air faighinn cuidhteas dhaibh.

Ann an suidheachadh dùthchail, chan eil mòran cho cudromach ri fearann: airson taigheadais, airson gnìomhachais, airson rathaidean. Ach ann an cus a shuidheachaidhean, tha cnapan-starra air nochdadh ri linn uachdarain a bhith rag no fiù ‘s gu bheil e ro dhuilich grèim fhaighinn orra.

Chan ann mar sin a bu chòir do chùisean a bhith ann an Alba an-diugh agus sin a tha an clàr ùr a’ feuchainn ri rèiteach.

Bidh e an urra ris a’ bhuidhinn Clàraidhean na h-Alba agus iad ag ràdh gu bheil e “a’ dol ga dhèanamh nas fhasa dha daoine agus coimhearsnachdan dhol an sàs anns na daoine a tha a’ dèanamh cho-dhùnaidhean mu fhearann a tha a’ toirt buaidh orra."

“Tha dùil gun toir an clàr ùr poblach cumhachd dha daoine agus gun cuidich e le bhith a’ cruthachadh phoileasaidhean, le bhith a’ toirt dealbh slàn air cò aige a tha cumhachd air co-dhùnaidhean timcheall fearann ann an Alba.”

Ach, tha draghan ann nach eil e a’ dol fada gu leòr, ’s gu bheil e ag amas cus air co-dhùnaidhean a-mhàin, an àite cò leis a tha oighreachdan agus nach eil na peanasan gu leòr airson toirt air daoine na riaghailtean a leantainn.

Ach, ‘s e ceum mòr air an t-slighe cheart a tha ann agus cha bu chòir dha duine sam bith a bhith na aghaidh ann am prionnsabal – mura eil càil aca ri fhalach

Fios bhon neach-deasachaidh:

Tapa leibh airson an aithris a tha seo a leughadh. Tha sinn an eismeil ur taic nas motha na bha riamh agus buaidh a’ Choronbhirus air buaidh a thoirt air luchd sanasachd. Mur eil sibh air a dhèanamh mar-tha, ma se ur toil, nach beachdaich sibh taic a chumail ri ar obair-naidheachd earbsach, a tha sinn a’ dearbhadh a tha fìor, le bhith toirt a-mach ballrachd digiteach.

With a new register of land being officially launched today, there will be some who will be hoping its effectiveness will prove akin to a bad practical joke, a kind of fool’s errand for the well-meaning.

After all, shining a light on the murky world of who owns Scotland’s land has hardly been much of a political priority in the past, with huge vested interest in maintaining the veil of secrecy. Land ownership is the perfect tax dodge for the wealthy, with individuals being able to hide behind trusts and offshore accounts.

But as of today, that has become a little more difficult, or at least it should.

The Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land, to give its full and prosaic title, is now publicly available and, in theory at least, gives everyone the right to find out who makes decisions on issues surrounding land.

It is by no means perfect and will be far from comprehensive, but is a much-needed step in the right direction in terms of accountability and access.

The arguments over Scotland’s inequitable ownership system are well rehearsed: more than half of the country’s land mass is owned by fewer than 500 people, which academic and leading land reformer campaigner, Professor Jim Hunter, says is "the most concentrated pattern of land ownership in the developed world".

Bar one or two exceptions in the crofting areas, notably in the Western Isles, the land reform agenda in the 25 years since devolution has by and large failed to live up to expectations, with no major community estate buyout at all since 2015.

Of course, community ownership is no panacea. First of all, you need an active and engaged community with driven individuals able to make a difference, and even then there are the same long-term challenges in making an estate a profitable business.

What that model clearly provides, however, is absolute accountability, both in terms of who makes the decisions and why – and if the wider community are unhappy there is a mechanism for them to be replaced.

In a rural context, there is scarcely anything more important than land: for housing, for business, for infrastructure. But too many times development has been hampered either by intransigence on the part of owners or that it is simply impossible to contact the relevant individual in order to make progress.

That is no way for a modern Scotland to operate and it is this that the new register aims to rectify.

Administered by Registers of Scotland, it promises to “make it easier for individuals and communities to engage with those who make decisions about land issues that affect them. It is anticipated that the creation of the new public register will help empower people, and support policy making by enabling a fuller picture of those individuals who have control over decisions about land in Scotland. ”

But there are concerns that it goes nowhere near far enough; that it only focuses on the individuals who make the decisions rather than provide a full picture of ownership and that the financial penalties for non-compliance – after a year’s grace – are simply not enough to convince those determined to hide behind the facade.

That may well all be true, but it’s clearly a step in the right direction, with the explicit understanding that there’s far more to do in unravelling the complex picture of just who owns Scotland.