Northern Ireland written question – answered at on 10 January 2005.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what response he has made to the March 2004 report of the Committee of Experts on the Implementation of the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, with particular reference to the recommendation that he recognise the necessity of public funding in order to maintain a newspaper in Irish in Northern Ireland; and what measures he is taking to support the Irish language daily newspaper.
Following publication in March 2004 of the Council of Europe's first Report on the United Kingdom's compliance with its commitments under the European Charter, I issued a News Statement which welcomed the Report's findings and reaffirmed the Government's commitment to protecting both Irish and the Ulster-Scots languages, and to continue with the work already in hand.
With regard to the two recommendations made by the Council's Committee of Experts, the Government are at an advanced stage of developing an Irish Language Broadcast Fund, and expect to issue revised and improved Charter Guidance to civil servants in Northern Ireland in the new year.
Lá is currently the only daily Irish language newspaper in publication. It has been successful over the years in attracting significant public sector funding from a range of sources, principally, but not exclusively, from the Irish Language Agency, Foras na Gaeilge, which has the function of facilitating and encouraging the use of Irish in speech and writing. Decisions on applications from Lá for public sector funding have been and will continue to be fully assessed on their merits in the light of the terms and conditions of grant stipulated by the funding body.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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