News broke yesterday that due to budget decisions affecting Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Scotland’s agency intended to support retention and growth of the use of the language in Scotland, a crucial fund which has provided grants to community organisations for staff capacity – the Gaelic Development Officers fund – has now ceased.
This will have a huige impact on the ability of communities like Tiree to take action to prevent the loss of Gaelic as a living community language – with Tiree being a community identified as one where we are very much on the brink of that loss right now, despite previous efforts.
Urras Thiriodh, the Tiree Community Dvelopment Trust, recently began work on an ambitious Gaelic Plan, and had even just this week been awarded funding to hold a series of events – but that grant proposal was based on the existing staff capacity continuing to be there – which is now in doubt.
We have agreed to co-sign the joint letter below with the Trust and are calling on all our elected representatives, Scottish Government and Bòrd na Gàidhlig to reconsider this decision and move funding for crucial community capacity on Gaelic in the correct direction.