The Ulster Scots hotline that's gone stone cold

Local & National

Voicemail service not used in over three years

Thursday, May 03, 2007

By David Gordon

A special Government voicemail service for phone calls from Ulster Scots speakers has not been used once in more than three years, it can be revealed today.

A similar facility for Irish speakers had an official tally of 15 calls over the same period, newly-released figures show.

The voicemails are provided to allow messages in either language to be left for Northern Ireland's 11 Government departments.

They are the responsibility of the Linguistic Operations Branch of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL).

Statistics for their usage have been disclosed to the Belfast Telegraph under freedom of information.

DCAL stated that the records for the voicemail numbers only date back to 2004.

Over this period, there have been no calls to the Ulster-Scots line to date.

The Irish language voicemail received six calls in 2004, five in 2005 and four in 2006. There have been none to date in 2007, the department added.

DCAL also explained that a professional translator has been hired for the phone messages received.

Costs to date for these translations have added up to £468.10 since 2004.

The Department said no staff costs have been incurred "which specifically relate to the voicemail service".

It further stated that records are not maintained on bogus or crank calls.

The Ulster Scots voicemail - 028 9025 8924 - originally featured an explanatory message in Ulster Scots. It advised callers needing an urgent response from a department to contact it directly in English.

The message on the voicemail now simply states in English: "Hello, your call cannot be taken at the moment. Please leave your message after the tone. "

The Irish language voicemail - 028 9025 8971 - still carries a message in Irish.

Explaining the background to the voicemail service, a DCAL spokesman said: " The Objectives and Principles of the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages places the onus on Government to pro-actively encourage the use of Irish and Ulster Scots.

"It also creates specific obligations regarding the use of Irish in official business in Northern Ireland where the charter commits the Government to allowing verbal and written submissions in Irish and Ulster Scots.

"The Northern Ireland Civil Service has, to date, fulfilled this undertaking partly through the provision of a voicemail facility located within the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), the lead department in linguistic diversity.

"The facility allows an Irish or Ulster Scots speaker who wishes to speak to a public servant - who cannot speak either Irish or Ulster Scots - to leave a message on a voicemail.

"This message is then translated and a reply is normally issued by post.

"The reply may be in the caller's spoken language or English, depending on individual departmental policy," the spokesman added.