Memorandum by Foras na Gaeilge
Foras na Gaeilge is the Cross-border Irish language
Body set up under the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999 and the
Northern Ireland Act 1998. The remit of Foras na Gaeilge is to
promote the Irish language and culture throughout the island of
Ireland.
INTRODUCTION
Foras na Gaeilge welcomes the opportunity to present
its case to the Select Committee on the BBC Review. Foras na Gaeilge
acknowledges and values the central role that the BBC has played
in the broadcasting of the celtic languages and culture of the
UK. Foras na Gaeilge appreciates that the preservation of Public
Service Broadcasting in the digital age is an important issue
and vital to ensuring high-quality services that are not commercially
viable. Foras na Gaeilge asserts that the licence-fee provides
all involved with a suitable means to safeguard and maintain the
principle of cultural diversity in our society.
Foras na Gaeilge was disappointed and dismayed
with the Government's Green Paper on the BBC Charter Review which
totally ignored the Irish language. There were significant recommendations
in relation to Welsh and Scottish Gaelic that only served to reinforce
the sense of disbelief within the Irish speaking community and
particularly, in light of the fact that the following have supported
and highlighted the need to underpin the provision of a Public
Service Broadcast for the Irish language community in Northern
Ireland:
The British and Irish Governments in the Good
Friday Agreement, The Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe, The European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, The European
Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, An International
Committee of Experts (Comex), The Broadcasting Council of Northern
Ireland, and Ofcom.
BBC NORTHERN IRELAND
The Irish language has no protection in Northern
Ireland in relation to Public Service Broadcasting whereas Welsh
Language Broadcasting is not only protected but also, defined
by Statute—500 hours of programming to be broadcast on S4C.
Similarly, BBC's Scottish Gaelic broadcasting service is protected
by a ring-fenced portion of the licence-fee income and also, supplemented
by income from the Gaelic Broadcasting Service. Irish language
programmes can be made only by displacing a part of the existing
English-medium service—a situation that is unsatisfactory
to all concerned.
OFCOM RECOMMENDATION
ON CHARTER
REVIEW
Ofcom has identified and highlighted the BBC's
lack of support for Irish language broadcasting in the past and
it has proposed that the matter be rectified through the renewal
of the BBC's Charter:
Historically, the BBC has spent less per head
on serving its Irish-speaking audience than on the Gaelic and
Welsh-speaking populations. We welcome its introduction of a regular
factual strand in the Irish language, SRL, and would expect Charter
Review to result in sufficient funding for BBC Northern Ireland
to be able to continue and expand this commitment. (page 100,
our emphasis).
LICENCE-FEE
PAYERS
Foras na Gaeilge welcomes this proposal and
does so on the basis that as television licence-fee payers the
Irish speaking community are entitled to a service comparable
to that provided by the BBC to other indigenous language communities.
Far more funding is being spent per capita by the BBC on Welsh
in Wales and Gaelic in Scotland than on Irish in Northern Ireland:
|
| BBC television service 2001-02 (from license fee
|
| | Hours
| Spend | Spend per speaker |
|
| Wales | 533
| £16,400,000 |
£53
|
| Scotland | 150
| £1,500,000 |
£64
|
| Northern Ireland | 2
| £200,000 |
£3
|
|
Note: BBC Scotland is also supported by the Gaelic
Broadcasting Fund, which provided an additional £3 million
in 2001-02.
THE GOOD
FRIDAY AGREEMENT
The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 has the legal force of
an international treaty. In the Agreement, the British Government
committed itself to:
"seek more effective ways to encourage and provide financial
support for Irish language film and television production in Northern
Ireland".
THE EUROPEAN
CHARTER FOR
REGIONAL OR
MINORITY LANGUAGES
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages was
ratified by the UK on 27 March 2001. Irish, along with Welsh and
Scottish Gaelic, was included under Part III of the Charter, the
higher level of provision. In Article 11, in the section on Media,
the British Government made the following commitment to the Irish
language in Northern Ireland:
"to the extent that radio and television carry out a
public service mission . . . [the Government undertakes] to make
adequate provision so that broadcasters offer programmes in the
regional or minority languages" [Paragraph 1a (iii)].
AN INTERNATIONAL
COMMITTEE OF
EXPERTS
An International Committee of Experts examined the performance
of the UK in relation to the Charter and published its report
in 2004. Their report, addressed to the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe, found "shortcomings in the services
in Irish, particularly regarding television", and stated:
— "The Committee of Experts considers the undertaking
fulfilled in relation to radio but not currently fulfilled in
relation to television" (page 53)
THE COMMITTEE
OF MINISTERS
OF THE
COUNCIL OF
EUROPE
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe received
the report, and on 24 March 2004, passed the following resolution
(Recommendation RecChl(2004)1:
"[The Committee of Ministers] recommends that the authorities
of the United Kingdom take account of all the observations of
the Committee of Experts, and, as a matter of priority . . . improve
the public service television provision in Irish" (p.70)
RECOMMENDATION OF
FORAS NA
GAEILGE
It is of the utmost concern to Foras na Gaeilge that the
Ofcom recommendations and those of the other organisations mentioned
above in relation to the Irish language have been totally ignored
in the BBC's Green Paper.
The occasional oblique reference to regional cultural needs
is not sufficient to cover over the magnitude of the injustice.
It is the firm view of Foras na Gaeilge that Government must demonstrate
its commitment by clearly defining the BBC's responsibilities
to Irish in Northern Ireland as part of its stated aim to safeguard
the cultural heritage of the indigenous Celtic languages in the
UK in the reviewed Charter. Foras na Gaeilge endorses and welcomes
the position of the Government and Ofcom who place significant
emphasis on the requirement to reflect the UK, its nations, regions
and communities, and on the BBC's role in strengthening cultural
identity and raising awareness of:
"different cultures and alternative viewpoints, through
programmes that reflect the lives of other people and other communities
within the UK".
These principles are further recognised in the Green Paper:
"Devolution has changed the political fabric of the UK,
and the BBC should continue to provide a larger amount of dedicated
programming in and for each of the devolved nations (Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales) (page 41)."
Foras na Gaeilge therefore asks that the Committee take the
following points into consideration:
1. The BBC's clear public service broadcasting responsibility
to provide a dedicated Irish language service for (a) Irish-speaking
licence-fee payers of Northern Ireland; (b) Irish-speakers in
other parts of the United Kingdom;
2. The BBC's responsibility to enable non-speakers of
Irish to gain an understanding of the Irish language and its attendant
culture;
3. The BBC's responsibility to enhance its television,
internet and educational provision to a level that reflects its
public broadcasting remit.
3 May 2005
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