Dheagh freagairt ri fhaicinn sna beachdan tighinn a-steach air làrach litrichean Inverness Courier an-diugh. Cuir nad chuimhne e.
'What is "spending on Gaelic" exactly?
* Money spent on English medium education is not taken from the "English budget".
* Money for childcare in English medium nurseries is not taken from the "English budget".
* Money spent on roadsigns in English is not taken from the "English budget".
* Grants to English-speaking performing arts groups is not taken from the "English budget".
* Funding of English-language broadcasters with public service obligations is not taken from the "English budget".
* The publication of public information pamphlets is not paid for from the "English budget".
* Public libraries do not purchase their books against an "English budget".
* Customer service training in English for public facing staff isn't charged to an "English budget".
And perhaps most appropriate to the subject in question:
* White elephant public IT projects commissioned in English aren't covered by an "English budget".
Yet replace the word "English" with "Gaelic" and suddenly the tables are turned.
Right now it seems that anything at all involving Gaelic needs special funding. Councils and non-profit bodies are effectively needing bribed to deliver basic services that most of us take for granted.
The fact that we can see the amount of money spent on Gaelic in this way proves that Gaels (I'm an English- and Scots-speaking Lowlander, incidentally) are still being given a pretty raw deal from their own public representatives.'