A LARGE gulf between perception and reality has always been evident in the debate on Teilifis na Gaeilge. But there have been few clearer illustrations of this than the quiet little ceremony in Spiddal, Co Galway, at the weekend.
About 30 young people from all over the country, including Dublin and Gaeltacht areas from Donegal to Waterford, gathered to receive their certificates at the end of television training courses.
They had studied the mysteries of production and direction, camera and sound work, lighting and editing and felt entitled to a little celebration. But not all of the 22 women and 15 men who completed the training (most of them in their 20s) were able to be there. When their names were called out, the response was "ag obair".
It is just under five months before TnaG's red light goes on and the demand for qualified workers is heavy. These are the kind of people described by one commentator as "the 200 bearded zealots in Comrade Higgins's constituency", who, he said, would get the jobs in TnaG. This ignored the fact that the women outnumbered the men and some of the "men" were barely old enough to grow a beard, whatever their political inclinations.
In his response on the night to recent criticism of TnaG, the chief executive of Udaras na Gaeltachta, Mr Ruan O Bric, drew comparisons from South Africa and the film The Commitments.
One critic had described Gaeltacht areas as "bantustans", a term which recalled the apartheid system in South Africa. The bantustans were set up by those who had no respect for the culture, language or heritage of the black people who lived there. They felt that any investment in those areas was "economic madness" in much the same way as critics attacked TnaG, he said.
In the film, a young musician says, "I'm black, and I'm proud". Perhaps it was time for Irish speakers to adopt the same slogan, Mr O Bric suggested.
The criticism in the media has created a certain amount of confusion in the public mind about TnaG. Such confusion is understandable if the journalists writing about the issue appear at best uninformed about the nature and cost of the new service.
As a publisher/broadcaster, it will have a core staff of about 30 people, some based in Connemara, others in Dublin. The other 200 jobs will be spread around Ireland, in small independent production companies which will make the programmes TnaG is to broadcast.
Some of the jobs already created are in Connemara, where Udaras na Gaeltachta has been building an audio visual industry since the late 1980s. Others are in the small Gaeltacht areas of Rinn in Co Waterford and Cuil Aodha in Co Cork, as well as Donegal, Mayo and Kerry.
Tyrone Productions, a large independent producer based in Dublin, will benefit from the largest single commission yet granted in the sector. It shares the commission for a daily soap opera with Eo Teilifis in Spiddal.
Who wants TnaG? Results from unpublished surveys conducted by Irish Marketing Surveys for Bord na Gaeilge show a modest increase in popular support for it, up from 40 per cent in 1993 to 45 per cent last December.
Those against dropped from 46 to 26 per cent over the same period, while the "don't knows" climbed from 15 to 29 per cent, according to the surveys.
Some of the comment about TnaG has presented it as a "plaything" of the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and stressed its possible electoral benefit to him.
Supporters of the station respond that TnaG is not happening because Michael D. Higgins thinks it will get him re-elected. It is happening because the Government was finally persuaded by arguments that RTE had failed over 30 years to fulfil its public service commitment to Irish.
The new station's headquarters will be in the Connemara Gaeltacht because language activists there fought hard against "RTE3 as Gaeilge" coming from Dublin. Linguistically and geographically, they say, it is the most logical place to site a Gaeltacht based service.
Much of the recent comment has centred on the cost. One commentator has written about a "£60 million" price tag, while another has claimed it will cost £100 million over five years.
There is no evidence that this is the case. The Minister, Mr Higgins, told the Dail in November 1993 that the Fianna Fail PD government had agreed an annual subvention of £16 million. That figure was subsequently reduced to £10 million by the present Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn.
In addition, RTE will supply one hour's worth of programming a day. This is expected to cost between £5 and £6 million a year and compares to the £130 million RTE cost in 1994, according to its annual report. The money for this will come from advertising revenue and the licence fee, not the Exchequer.
The £16 million capital costs are being spread over three years. The money for this is coming from advertising profits accumulated by RTE above and beyond what it was allowed to do under a previous "cap" on advertising.
Much of this capital funding will go towards creating a 24 hour transmission network which is a useful and potentially lucrative addition to the State's telecommunications infrastructure.
TnaG will broadcast for between two and three hours a day. If it is allowed to sell the rest of the air time to clients promoting things like tele shopping, Christian television or data transmission services then TnaG might eventually pay its way.
Supporters of the station argue a better alternative would be to use the network for regional and community television, distance learning and the broadcasting of Oireachtas proceedings.