RTÉ and RnaG wages’ disparity is a bit Irish

Bradley Bytes – a sort of political column with Dara Bradley

Discrimination against Irish speakers is nothing new. It was highlighted two decades ago, when legendary broadcaster Seán Bán Breathnach, as Irish Officer of Galway GAA, said Connemara players were subjected to ‘sledging’ for speaking i nGaeilge during matches.

Five years ago, another native Irish speaker, and Galway football legend, Seán Ó Domhnaill, from An Cheathrú Rua, said abuse towards Gaeltacht players was still commonplace.

It is hard to believe that such dirty, prejudiced attitudes can exist in an organisation founded during a cultural and literary revival by people who were passionate about Irish identity, including language.

The GAA’s ethos is about inclusiveness; it is anti-sectarian, anti-racism, promotes respect and puts the community at the heart of the organisation’s activities. And yet, dogs’ abuse for speaking Irish on the field of play is still a thing.

Perhaps Conamara-based TV station, TG4, which does so much to promote Irish and the GAA, is helping to change attitudes to the language through its top-class coverage of Gaelic Games, including Peil na mBan, club championship and underage competitions.

But bigotry against native speakers is not confined to GAA pitches; just ask any resident of the Gaeltacht who tries to interact in Irish with the State – a Garda, a Council official and more – during everyday tasks.

It is institutionalised in media, too. Take another Irish language media organisation in Conamara – Raidió na Gaeltachta (RnaG).

It’s our national Irish language radio station, and part of RTÉ, the national broadcaster’s stable, but RnaG journalists are treated as second class vis-à-vis their English-speaking counterparts in Donnybrook.

In many ways it is harder to work for RnaG. Reporters and editors have to translate most of the news from English into Irish, which is time-consuming.

When it comes to getting contributors for programmes, they often struggle to source people who are fluent or have enough confidence to speak ‘as Gaeilge’, while ‘schooling’ less fluent contributors is par for the course.

So, working for news programming on RnaG is, in many ways, more difficult than working for RTÉ and yet the salary can be up to 25% less.

Irish-speaking workers in RnaG feel like they’re treated as the ‘poor relation’ compared with English-content colleagues in RTÉ, which, is obliged by law to provide comprehensive programming in Irish.

Treating RnaG as second class is, well, a bit Irish; something for RTÉ’s Director General, Dee Forbes, to think about this St Patrick’s Day, during Seachtain na Gaeilge.

(Photo: RTÉ’s Director General, Dee Forbes might take time during Seachtain na Gaeilge to ponder why employees in RnaG can be paid up to 25% less than their English-speaking counterparts in Donnybrook).
For more Bradley Bytes, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.