§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the progress of the European Language Initiative in compiling its Gaelic-English dictionary for the public sector; what organisations are involved in the process of compilation; to what extent the project will contribute to the development of Gaelic terminology for the Scottish Parliament; when he expects the project to be completed; and if he will make a statement. [69720]
§ Mr. Macdonald[holding answer 10 February 1999]: The Scottish Office gave a grant of £10,000 in March 1998 to The European Language Initiative for the initial phase of development work on their Gaelic-English dictionary. The initial phase is now complete. Funding for the rest of the project is currently being sought. The project will be carried out in co-operation with a number of Gaelic organisations. It will be for the Scottish Parliament itself to decide the place of Gaelic in the proceedings of the Parliament.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.