BORD na Gaeilge has reacted angrily to a proposal that it be subsumed into a new Irish language council, as part of a major shakeup of language organisations.
The proposals are in a report published last night, following a substantial examination of the language movement by a commission set up last year by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.
Mr Higgins said the report deserved "careful examination", and he was giving the public and the language organisations three months to respond to it.
Comhdhail Naisiunta na Gaeilge, the co-ordinating body for voluntary language organisations, welcomed the report.
A Bord na Gaeilge spokesman said the commission's focus was originally intended to be the voluntary language organisations and it was "unbelievable" that the commission would involve itself in the board's affairs after a single meeting. "I don't understand what need there is to build new structures from the ground up," he said.
The report criticises some voluntary bodies as inward-looking old-fashioned and ineffective but says the sector is underfunded.
Little progress could be made in the community were it not for the work undertaken by the Irish language organisations. Without them it would be necessary to establish networks of a similar nature at a much greater cost to the State. Their independence should be respected and their autonomy should not be diminished." It continues with a devastating critique of Bord na Gaeilge.
The State board was set up in 1978 in a "bold and imaginative attempt to create the type of policy, planning and co-ordinating framework needed to stimulate and develop the language", it says.
It had largely failed because of lack of political support and resistance from other State bodies.
"The subsequent narrowing of its role suited, in turn, both the State and the board it sell, and meant that the role of the board was mainly promotional, and this has clearly been the case ever since." It had failed in its primary responsibility, to promote the use of Irish as an ordinary means of communication, and "a major transformation in that direction is unlikely".
"The board does not envisage such a role for itself . . . does not project a self-image of sufficient weight, scope or vision to enable the organisation to fulfil the pioneering role deemed necessary for a language development agency."
The report recommends the replacement of the board by An Chomhairle Ghaeilge, a language council which would operate in the same way as the Heritage Council and the Arts Council. Such a council could create a coherent structure for the funding of the voluntary sector, which is haphazard.
For example, some organisations are funded directly by the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, others by Bord na Gaeilge, and still others from the Department of Education.
The council could also have statutory powers and responsibilities and co-ordinate planning and research on language issues.
The report stresses the importance of the council's independence vis-a-vis other State bodies. "An Chomhairle should express publicly its dissatisfaction with any aspect of State planning which, despite its intervention, remains deficient."
It recommends funding voluntary organisations such as Conradh na Gaeilge and Gael-Linn on a project-by-project basis, rather than the present system of annual block grants. "It is essential that the funding authority for projects connected with the voluntary sector be an independent State authority with no executive role in any community activity," it says.
The report says the Comhdhail could become a "public forum" which would give a role to the social partners, churches, professional organisations and community groups in the formation of language policy. This would tie in with an overall action plan for the language, prepared in association with An Chomhairle Ghaeilge.