McGrigor supports Scottish Government’s Action Plan for Gaelic

On Thursday’s (15th April) debate at Holyrood on the proposed Action Plan to increase the number of Gaelic speakers, Jamie McGrigor, Highlands and Islands MSP, closing the debate for the Conservatives, spoke in support.

While noting that he welcomed the progressive investment in the development of the language, he expressed his disappointment that this has not yet translated into any significant growth in the number of those who speak it.

However, he found proposals in the Action Plan focused on this issue and announced that the Conservatives would vote in support of the measures proposed.

Below is the full text of his speech.

‘I am pleased to close the debate for the Scottish Conservatives, as it is of real interest to many of my constituents in the Highlands and Islands. I am proud of the excellent record of previous Conservative Governments in helping to sustain the Gaelic language. The first time that I stood in an election was in the Western Isles. I insisted that part of my electoral address be written in Gaelic, and in it I pointed out that the Conservative party had put £16 million into Gaelic broadcasting. Unfortunately, my translator got one word wrong, which resulted in a daily newspaper saying that the Conservatives were putting £16 billion into Gaelic. That did me no harm, because our votes went up, although I had to admit my mistake.

‘My colleague Ted Brocklebank said that the Scottish Conservatives broadly welcome Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s action plan for Gaelic. I pay tribute to all those who have worked to produce the action plan. We are clear that the best way in which to maintain and strengthen Gaelic is through broadcasting and education. A good supply of books, such as is available in Ireland, would also be a good idea. I am impressed by the tourist information office in Tyndrum, which has poems by the famous local poet Duncan Ban MacIntyre on the walls. That is a good idea.

‘Many members have rightly raised the subject of the availability of BBC Alba on Freeview, for which I have argued many times. My constituents in the Highlands and Islands are understandably disappointed that the BBC trust has postponed its decision on the matter. The Parliament should send out a strong and united message that there should be no further delay. My constituent Allan Campbell, who is the chairman of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, has written to the chairman of the BBC trust. As Mr Campbell points out in his letter, the society believes that the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and the resulting national plan for Gaelic give significant cause for optimism, but a Gaelic digital service is fundamental to that optimism. He also highlights the strong sense of injustice among Gaelic users at being required to pay more to access publicly funded programmes in their language. That issue should be remedied as soon as possible.

‘A lot of good work takes place in education. The action plan is right to focus on support for parents and adult learning. I commend innovative projects such as the link between pupils of the bun-sgoil on Sleat and Tollcross primary school in Edinburgh, which has resulted in the wonderful Air Iomlaid exhibition of artwork by pupils that is currently on show at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. That is on until 9 May, and I suggest that as many members as possible go.

‘In preparing for today’s debate, I consulted the Gaelic expert in Argyll, Brigadier John MacFarlane, who sings in a Gaelic choir along with my wife Emma. He made several good points. He emphasised the importance of Radio nan Gàidheal as well as the need to develop and support what he called the Gaelic diaspora of potential new learners in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. As I was in the USA last week for Scotland week, I am even more keenly aware of the interest in all things Scottish, including our Gaelic language. We must encourage that important aspect of bringing people to Scotland.

‘The action plan is right when it talks about

• “national pride, a sense of history” and
• “a desire to better understand the place-names of Scotland”.

‘Those play a part in making the learning of Gaelic accessible. That applies in Scotland and among the Gaelic diaspora. I agree with John MacFarlane’s desire for a better structured approach to adult part-time learning with the development of a modern national curriculum for adult Gaelic learning. He also suggests that we should have a Sabhal Mòr Ostaig for the central belt. I am interested in what the minister might say on that.

‘I must raise one negative point in connection with Gaelic choirs. I have recently discovered that An Comunn Gàidhealach has raised the required level of passes in Gaelic language speaking among members of choirs. Apparently, if a choir does not have the required number of passes, it cannot compete in certain competitions in the national Mod. That seems to me to be counterproductive in all kinds of ways. We have already said that it is the Gaelic arts and culture that keep Gaelic going, so we want to encourage as many people as possible to sing the songs and read the poetry. However, people have told me that, if their choir is not allowed to take part in the national Mod, they will not bother to take part in the choir. If someone is in full-time employment or looking after children, they might have time to sing in the choir once a week but not have time to study the language. On the other hand, their very proximity to the language while singing it will almost certainly interest them in trying to learn what the words and place names mean.

‘In that regard, I congratulate An Comunn Gàidhealach on sponsoring Gaelic lessons for members of Gaelic choirs. However, as I said, it is entirely counterproductive to put up barriers to people who are willing to take part in those choirs or to insist on any academic qualifications. After all, one need not learn German, French or Italian to sing an opera in those languages, so why on earth should people need to learn the Gaelic language? If someone has a beautiful voice, that is all that is needed. I do not suppose that the Italian maestro Luciano Pavarotti had to take German lessons to sing “Die Fledermaus” and I doubt that the great Swedish tenor Jussi Björling had to take Italian lessons to sing “Carmen”, so why should people need to have Gaelic lessons to sing in a Gaelic choir?

‘Gaelic music is free and inspirational. It comes from the sounds of the sea, the sounds of the wind, the sounds of the skylark, the curlew, the oystercatcher. It is about a beautiful sound and freedom of the mind and spirit. It is nothing whatever to do with academic passes and linguistic skills, and I humbly beg An Comunn Gàidhealach to take the requirements away. Surely it is musical merit that defines a good choir rather than a grasp of the grammar of the language.

‘We recognise the investment that has gone into Gaelic but we share the concern that, although much good work is going on, it has not yet been matched by a corresponding increase in the number of Gaelic speakers. The action plan plots a way forward to address that, so I support the Government’s motion. We Conservatives will support it along with the amendment in the name of my friend Ted Brocklebank, obviously, and the amendment by Pauline McNeill’.