Sir, - All of us who believe in language rights will be immensely relieved that the latest chairman of RTE, Farrel Corcoran, shares with his predecessors a commitment to the Irish language (January 31st).
Experienced broadcasters within RTE, including these who are now running the RTE subsidiary, Teilifis na Gaeilge, have for many years quite properly devoted more resources to Irish language television than were warranted by commercial considerations based merely on audience ratings. Moreover, some of their programmes have been of a very high standard.
It is a mistake, I believe, to base the case for Irish language programming on opinion polls. As an academic, I am concerned that some of the polls to which the RTE chairman refers may not be available as a basis on which to plan broadcasting options.
Moreover, if one lives by the polls one dies by the polls when a question is put differently or when a fickle public moves on to some new enthusiasm or is asked to pay for something.
In recent years the European Union has asserted the right of access to the electronic media for communities whoa speak lesser used languages. The RTE chairman clearly identifies the rationale for this but seems to imply that the EU policy, which both he and I endorse, constitutes a blueprint for the peculiar scheme which is now in place for Teilifis na Gaeilge.
I could not agree with the RTE chairman's description of any aspect of official policy on the Irish language as "the vibrant appreciation of linguistic pluralism".
My concern, like that of other critics of current broadcasting developments, is that we have neither a coherent language policy, nor a coherent broadcasting policy.
The Green Paper was supposed to be the basis of a debate on the future of broadcasting, leading on to a White Paper which would include a contextualised costing of the Government's favoured option.
As the monopoly national broadcaster, the organisation of which Farrel Corcoran is chairman has provided the smallest possible platform for such debate and the Minister has now indicated that he will neither publish the 130 submissions on the Green Paper nor proceed to a White Paper.
I wish RTE's Teilifis na Gaeilge the best of luck. Those of us who have studied some of the rich Gaelic sources of this multicultural society or who have known the true Gaeltachts cannot but hope that, even at this late stage, the Government may find a political will to encourage effectively the study of Irish.
Whether a two hour ghetto on a channel which has yet to be filled with other unspecified output constitutes such a will, and whether the manner of its funding may cause damage to other vital aspects of our broadcasting culture, are matters of opinion.
On a practical basis the RTE chairman could help to clarify matters by indicating, firstly, the minimum budget which will be devoted to Irish language programming on the two existing RTE channels during the remaining years of his Authority life and, secondly, whether RTE will attempt to take into account as part of its statutory obligations to the independent production sector any of those programmes which it is to supply to Teilifis na Gaeilge. - Yours, etc.,
School of Communications, Dublin City University,
Dublin 9.