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Deirdre a-rithist, breab eile/ second attack from councillor

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:15 pm
by Gràisg
Breab eile bho Deirdre choir dhan Ghàidhlig:

'I do not apologise for supporting my constituents...

...I am an elected councillor for the East Sutherland and Edderton ward; my duty is to deliver services to my area and nothing will deflect me from that. Let me be clear, I support and respect the Gaelic culture - but this is not the issue here.

At a time when our communities face unprecedented cuts to vital public services, I cannot stand by and watch hard-earned taxpayers' money being spent without apparent question. Examples include: a £35k Community Activities Development Officer for the Gaelic Medium Education School in Inverness; £6k as a Golden Hello to attract Gaelic teachers; paid time off for HC staff to learn Gaelic - all at a time when our education service faces severe cuts.

We have just heard of the £14m savings to be made by NHS Highland; however, Bòrd na Gàidhlig has delivered funding of £80k for a consultant to implement the Gaelic Language Plan within our cash-strapped health service - at what benefit to patients?

Spending on Gaelic is delivered by Highland Council and Bòrd na Gàidhlig. It has never been debated by the full Highland Council and as such raises issues of democratic accountability.

BnG is an unelected quango. Mr Arthur Cormack of BnG has invited me to meet with him and I look forward to a constructive discussion. There has to be a better way of delivering the aspirations of the Gaelic Plan within the boundaries of affordability.

I do not apologise for supporting my constituents and in doing all I can to protect and facilitate the delivery of essential local services.'

Airson an litir slan faic an Northern Times:
http://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/fu ... uents.html

O, amadan eile cuideachd:

'In defence of the indefensible'

'In my school days I took Latin and Greek for four years and yet today I speak not a word of either - I'm assured it was good for my education.

I suggest that Gaelic education has the same status and will in no way preserve the use of the language.

Incidentally, I've never heard the Gaelic used as a means of everyday communication in all of 36 years here in the north of Scotland, neither on the streets of Inverness nor Bonar Bridge.'

tuilleadh an seo:
http://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/fu ... sible.html

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:43 pm
by Seonaidh
"Latin and Greek"? Non sequitur, smaoin.

Re: Deirdre a-rithist, breab eile/ second attack from counci

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 11:05 pm
by An Gobaire
Gràisg wrote:

Incidentally, I've never heard the Gaelic used as a means of everyday communication in all of 36 years here in the north of Scotland, neither on the streets of Inverness nor Bonar Bridge.'
l
Abair iongnadh! Chan eil Gàidhlig aige....ciamar a bhiodh fios aige ged a chuala e i gus nach do chuala!

What a shock! He doesn't understand Gaelic so how would he know whether he had heard it or not!

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:40 pm
by Seonaidh
Tha mi air mo chumhneachadh mun àm nuair a bha mi a' bruidhinn ri caraidean sa Chuimrigh. Bha iad ag ràdh mun àm nuair a bha iad air aiseag Caergybi-Dùn Laoghaire (no an robh e Abergwaun-Ròs Làr?). Co-dhiù, bha iad a' bruidhinn sa Chuimris, mar as àbhaist, agus sin Èireannach a' tighinn thucasan agus ag ràdh rudeigin mar "Oh, it's wonderful to hear the young folk speaking Irish!"...

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:50 pm
by Neas Olc
Ha thachair rud sam bith coltach dhomhsa cuideachd nuair a bha mi a bruidhinn Gàidhlig taobh a muigh bhon chlas agam. Chrèid duine a chaidh seachad gur e Gaeilge a bh'innte...co dhiu cha robh mi air oillteachadh. S'abhaist do dhuine an seo smaoineachadh gu bheil Celtic/Gaelic = Irish (a-mhàin). :roll:

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:24 pm
by Gràisg
Agus a-nis beachdan na chois:


Leodhasach
View details
The Gaelic Language Act was passed by a Labour Government and is now entrenched in law, a fact that seems to have escaped Councillor Mackay. Stop avoiding the facts that have been presented to you and accept that money spent on Gaelic is a tiny proportion of the council and Scottish Government's budget. Your tax money has been spent on far worse! Take a look at the expenses scandal, banker's bonuses and the Edinburgh tram scheme before you take a pop at Gaelic.

It seems to me that there is a certain degree of selective blindness here. By all means have a debate about it, but please base it on fact, not conjecture, anecdotal evidence and the fabled 'silent majority'.

You say you're 'saddened' by the tenor of the responses... most if not all the comments were fair, well balanced and to the point. You can't seriously expect to attack a culture and not expect a response in kind?! This faux dismay does you no credit; accept that you've made some inappropriate and unfounded remarks and move on.

I'd like to see a debate on the future of Gaelic hosted somewhere like Eden Court; let's get everyone from both sides in and hammer it out once and for all.
4 days ago, 17:03:25
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Des
How about all the money your party - the Labour Party - spends on wars Deirdre? Anyway, prize of the Millennium so far for 'I'm not against Gaelic but...'
4 days ago, 18:19:11
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Guest
Support for Gaelic is the issue Councillor Mackay.

Sadly, investment and infrastructure for Gaelic schools and teaching etc has been sorely lacking, thus a need to put money in these areas now. It is unacceptable to deny these rights, and they are rights (!), to the Gaelic speaking community any longer. The fact that you see fit to target spending on Gaelic projects, instead of in other areas where spending dwarfs that spent on Gaelic by a considerable margin, shows this is not simply a matter of watching the public purse but a personal prejudice on your part.
4 days ago, 19:52:13
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Angus Òg
She doesn't let up easily, does she, our Councillor Mackay?

She clearly is not listening to the reasoned arguments put forward by Arthur Cormack, Catach, Dòmhnall and countless others on this web facility. She still goes on about supporting her constituents. How can she say that when, clearly, opinion is against her views? I hope people in this ward remember this incident at the next election.

I believe that Dave Thompson MSP has put down a motion to the Scottish Parliament about this asking MSPs, including Labour members, to distance themselves from Ms Mackay's comments, claiming that they represent thinly-veiled racism.

I have to laugh at her comment on democratic accountability. How many other things are being carried out by the Highland Council that were never debated at the full council? If the council were to work like that they'd never get anything done. That's why they have a committee structure. Councillor Mackay is a member of the Education, Culture & Sport Committee and should be well aware of Gaelic education issues. In practice, how many decisions of the ECS are debated by the full council?

I cannot believe that she has been caught out like this. Quite unbelievably thick!
4 days ago, 20:54:55
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tormod macartair
Gàidhlig ar cànan. Come and learn. If you don't want to learn be proud of your nation's language, support it, encourage it, it's yours, it's ours. Don't be afraid of it. Don't be jealous of it. It's all around us. Place names, surnames, music, song, dance, history, tradition and heritage; all this can and will be our future too. It adds so much colour to our nation. It offers such opportunity to our children. It is unique, it is rich and it is beautiful. It is Scotland's. All this to save with 0.07% of the Scottish budget - less than three quarters of one tenth of one percent.

Now, Councillor Mackay, go and ask your own party how much they spent on taking us into Iraq. It is a common thread of argument these days but it is a completely justified question for someone who both questions insignificant expenditure on such a significant cultural and linguistic resource and who also represents the party who have spent billions on an illegal war.

It really is that straightforward. Take time to think about it. Take time to look over all that you have said with this response in mind, before you meet with Arthur Cormack and as you put it yourself discuss "a better way of delivering the aspirations of the Gaelic Plan within the boundaries of affordability."
3 days ago, 13:07:00
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Dòmhnall
Dear Councillor Mackay,

I note that you fail - not for the first time - to deal with any of the issues or demonstrate even a modicum of understanding. How would stopping spending on Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis save money Councillor Mackay? Please explain this as this is at the heart of your original outburst.

Could you further please explain in detail with examples how you as a councillor and individual support Gaelic?

I think you are hiding behind this for fear of been found out as someone who has no idea what they are talking about but holds a deep seated prejudice. As evidence of this I would offer your inability to demonstrate any understanding and your total lack of any action at all in supporting Gaelic. I would also question your commitment to any bilingual education since as far as I know, as a paid councillor your quest for Spanish and Urdu being available has resulted in the sum total of nothing happening.

You are quite correct to question spending priorities and since you are a member of the Labour Party you support the replacement of Trident at a cost of £20 billion and ID cards at £9 billion. The real reason for the cuts is that the budget going to the Scottish Government is being cut by the London Labour Government. This means that the Scottish Government has less money to give to Highland Council and therefore cuts need to be made. In short, you support weapons before investment in language, education and communities.

You say "spending on Gaelic is delivered by Highland Council and Bòrd na Gàidhlig. It has never been debated by the full Highland Council and as such raises issues of democratic accountability." This is utter nonsense as I myself attended a debate last year of the full council where your father made a fool of himself ranting on about NHS consultants - none of which was true. He demonstrated his inability to make decisions on behalf of communities.

Bòrd na Gàidhlig is unelected, a bit like half the ministers in your Labour Government which you directly support. Lord Falconer was on Question Time last night talking about a war which your Labour Party illegally brought on Iraq and resulted in the deaths of a million people. I don't see you talking about that though. You are a hypocrite.

However, a lot of good has come out of this. Support for Gaelic has been overwhelmingly demonstrated and 85% of people on the NT website voted against you. The paper had its biggest haul of letters with the vast majority against you. Your inability and poor understanding has been laid clear for all to see and your reputation is in tatters. The ironic thing is this was all self-imposed and from an attack executed by you and your father.
3 days ago, 13:52:09
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Oh well...
I don't expect an apology. But I don't apologise either. I don't apologise for standing up against what you have put forth. I do not apologise for not quite seeing eye-to-eye with you.

What we do expect is some solid facts and figures from you - no spin. We want some comparisons on other divisions of public spending. I would like to know if there are any other sectors you wish to see face major cuts and why.

I would like to ask what Gaelic's part was in causing the finance problems of the Highland Council and what exactly you would spend the Gaelic on - no generalisations - just old figures.

This may sound harsh and quite a demand, however; from a supporter of the Gaelic languages point of view, I do wish to know exactly why my children's future, education in Gaelic and knowledge of the Scottish culture and history should be compromised in years to come. I wish you to justify why young Gaelic speakers shouldn't face the same choices as that of children taught in English - things such as drama classes, music classes, books, good teachers - why should my children not be allowed to learn in Gaelic?

All you ask is for budget cuts to an already struggling language, to compromise the future of Gaelic in its own backyard and all I ask is for reasonable, accountable, quantifiable reasons, facts and figures as to why and how.
3 days ago, 14:14:13
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Nìall
"Spending on Gaelic is delivered by Highland Council and Bòrd na Gàidhlig. It has never been debated by the full Highland Council and as such raises issues of democratic accountability."

It is an unfortunate fact of modern politics that it is rare for any politician to pay any mind to the question of democratic accountability except where they disagree with the conclusion of the process followed.

It is clear from Councillor MacKay's letter that she is not the exception: her arguments focus on why the council's decision was (in her opinion) the wrong one, and not on how that decision was reached.

If Councillor MacKay is concerned about the process, she should discuss the process; if she is concerned about the conclusion, she should discuss the conclusion. Anything else has the hollow ring of political hypocrisy.
3 days ago, 17:07:22
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Iain Mac
Languages and education are an investment. If Deirdre Mackay wants to see a country where multi-lingual and progressive education are used to benefit all kids and subsequently the economy, then she should go to the Basque Country. You won't find many Basques complaining that their kids come out of school at 17 speaking Basque, Spanish, English and French.

The anti-Gaelic bigots really need to get out more.

We need MORE money on Gaelic and modern-language immersion, not less. If the Basques can immerse their kids in Basque at the age of 2 months, English at age 4 years and formal Spanish at 8 years, why can't we follow a similar model?

It is also sad to see a Labour council picking on expenditure on a 'minority' language (actually, Gaelic education is available to, and benefits all). What minorities are next I wonder?

Re: Deirdre a-rithist, breab eile/ second attack from counci

Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:20 am
by horogheallaidh
Holy thread resurrection batman!!

What a difference a year or two makes..........

http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourcouncil/ ... -03-03.htm

Oh how I lol'd and lol'd.........

Sin mar a bha e, sin mar a tha e, sin mar a bios e?

Re: Deirdre a-rithist, breab eile/ second attack from counci

Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 6:43 pm
by Gràisg
Nach oirre a thàinig an da latha :D :D :D :moladh: :lol: