British government is failing the Irish language says SF

Sinn Fein MLA Bairbre de Brun has warned that the development of the Irish language in television is being undermined by both a funding shortfall and a lack of political will.

Speaking on UNESCO's International Day for Mother Languages, Ms de Brun said the British government had so far failed to live up to specific commitments they made to expand TG4 (an Irish language broadcaster) coverage in Northern Ireland "and in providing financial support for Irish language film and television production".

Outlining what measures the government should take to correct the shortfall, she added: "A fund of £5 million for financial support for Irish language film and television production should be established, and the British government's Communications Bill should make provision for the Irish language in the way it does for the Welsh language and for Gaelic in Scotland."

The disparity between different Celtic languages was recently highlighted with the launch of Freeview, which included S4C but no Scottish or Irish channel, despite calls for TG4 to be carried on the free-to-air network.

(GB)