We have today issued a letter, jointly with Tiree Community Council, calling for reconsideration of the decision, announced this week, to cease the funding of the Gaelic Development Officers fund, operated by Bòrd na Gàidhlig. The fund is the primary source of core funding of community based capacity to undertake work to preserve the Gaelic language and encourage its use.
Tiree has historically been one of the longer lasting examples of a community where Gaelic is still spoken by a major portion of the population and where it could still be considered a “living community language” but in recent years was clearly identified as being at risk.
Last year we set out more ambitious plans to tackle this problem, and successfully argued for an increase in funding for the needed staff capacity – which led to the work being built into two roles within the Trust. Having started to make progress on that work, it is incredibly concerning to be informed that the funding for that capacity is set to be taken out from under us.
Here is our press release on the matter: Tiree responds to Gaelic budget cuts
Here is the joint letter issued today (28th Feb 2024): Gaelic Development cuts Feb 2024 TCDT + TCC joint letter
