Committee News Release
CED 004/2004
26 November 2004
PARLIAMENT'S EDUCATION COMMITTEE VISITS SKYE AND GLASGOW TO HEAR VIEWS ON GAELIC BILL
MSPs from the Scottish Parliament's Education Committee are to visit Skye on 29 November and Glasgow on Wednesday 1 December. They will hold formal meetings to take evidence on the Gaelic Language ( Scotland ) Bill.
After the meeting in Skye, members of the Committee will visit Portree Primary and Portree High School to find out more about Gaelic provision at the schools.
Following the meeting in Glasgow , there will be a public meeting where people can hear more about the work of the Scottish Parliament, in particular its Gaelic outreach programme.
Convener of the Committee, Robert Brown MSP, said:
“Gaelic is one of Scotland 's traditional languages, and the Gaelic Bill has been widely welcomed as marking a landmark stage in the protection and revival of Gaelic. We are aware that a number of issues remain contentious, and that these may well be viewed differently across Scotland .
“Whilst there has already been a pre-legislative consultation exercise by the Scottish Executive, we are looking at the exact detail of what is now proposed. It is vital we hear from a wide spectrum of those working in the Gaelic arena as to what they think of the Bill, so that we can consider this fully when making our recommendations to Parliament.
“We are anxious to get the full flavour of views from across the country, and particularly from the long-established Gaelic-speaking communities. Committee members are looking forward to our visits to Skye and Glasgow.”
Details on Skye:
The Committee meeting will start at 9.45am , concluding at approximately lunchtime.
Agenda:
Gaelic Language ( Scotland ) Bill: The Committee will take evidence from—
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Norman Gillies/Farqhar Macintosh,
Iain Taylor, Course Lecturer
Mairaid Robertson, Student
Comunn na Gàidhlig
Dòmhnall Màrtainn, Chief Executive
Màiri Bremner, Chairman
Donald Macdonald, Member of Board of Directors
Public tickets for this meeting (at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig) are available from Facilities Manager at the
College, Carlotta Graham (Tel: 01470-888000. email: sm00cmk@groupwise.uhi.ac.uk) and not the Scottish Parliament's Public Information Service.
Details on Glasgow :
The Committee meeting will start at 9.45am concluding at approximately lunchtime.
Evidence will be taken from:
Highland Council
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Glasgow City Council
Following a short break, a talk on how to participate in the Scottish Parliament (in English) will start at 1.30pm . Directly after this, the Parliament's Gaelic Outreach Officer will give a presentation in Gaelic, covering the legislative process, looking in particular at the Gaelic Language ( Scotland ) Bill. Handouts will be available in English. The day will conclude with a question and answer session, finishing at 3pm .
Public tickets are available from the Scottish Parliament for the Committee meeting Tel: 0131 348 5200. email: sp.bookings@scottish.parliament.uk. RNID Typetalk calls welcome.
Seats for the public Gaelic focussed meeting can be reserved from the Scottish Parliament's Gaelic Outreach officer, Alasdair MacCalium:Tel: 0131 348 5395, gaidhlig@scottish.parliament.uk
Background
The Gaelic Language ( Scotland ) Bill 2004 was introduced on 27 September this year. It proposes to establish Bòrd na Gàidhlig (the Bòrd) as a statutory body which will work to secure the status of Gaelic as an official language of Scotland . The Bòrd could require Scottish public authorities to produce and implement Gaelic language plans, and would itself produce a national strategy for Gaelic. It could also provide guidance on Gaelic education.
A briefing is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre which considers some key issues in the Bill and attempts to set these in a broader context of approaches to language planning. It gives particular emphasis on comparison with Welsh and Irish and previous proposals for Gaelic as well as considering obligations under the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages.
The briefing is available at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/billsInProgress/gaelicLanguage.htm (English version)
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/billsInProgress/gaelicLanguage-g.htm (Gaelic version)
The Parliament’s media contact is:
Sally Coyne: 0131 348 6265
email: sally.coyne@scottish.parliament.uk
For Education committee information, contact:
Martin Verity: 0131 348 5204
Email: martin.verity@scottish.parliament.uk
For general enquiries, contact: 0845 278 1999 (local
call rate)
Visit our website at: www.scottish.parliament.uk