DISCUSSIONS BEGIN ON GAELIC TELEVISION’S FUTURE

THE FUTURE of Gaelic Television in Scotland will depend to a great extent on discussions and conclusions that will unfold over the next few months.
Crucial to that future will be the decision by government on whether to sanction some or all of the proposals of the Milne Task Force. The primary recommendation was the establishment of a dedicated Gaelic digital channel under the jurisdiction of a Gaelic Broadcasting Authority.
While there are diverse views on how a Gaelic Broadcasting Authority might be constituted, the Gaelic community and its representative organisations have shown broad support for the concept and particularly for a comprehensive Gaelic television service to supersede the present provision which, according to the Milne Report, ‘has long been recognised as inadequate.’
Member of Parliament Calum MacDonald, who set up the Gaelic Broadcasting Task Force when he was a Minister, has stated that if he and his party are re-elected to Westminster at the forthcoming election one of his priorities in the first year of the new parliament will be to use the impending Broadcasting Bill to set up a new digital television service based in the Gaidhealtachd.
In the meantime the Education, Culture and Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament have begun their enquiry on ‘the progress to date of the Gaelic Broadcasting Committee with reference to the economic, social and cultural impact derived from their activities and spending.
The wide ranging enquiry is also looking at the effect of Gaelic broadcasting on the audience and the community, the impact on the development of Gaelic, on the Gaelic arts and on education and will also consider the legislative framework within which the fund operates. (GB)