Tory MSP Donald Cameron says all parties, including his own, bear some responsibility for politicising Gaelic.

Mr Cameron welcomes the consensual nature of this debate.

One of the key aims of the Gaelic Language Plan is to expand Gaelic medium education he says, which will require more teachers.

We want to see Gaelic thrive in Scotland and we welcome many of the actions set out in the plan, the Tory MSP says.

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant points to her party's support in the past for the language, including passage of the Gaelic Language Act.

She urges the Scottish government to ensure there are enough Gaelic medium teachers.

History is held in song and storytelling, and much of Scotland's history is held in Gaelic, she says.

Ms Grant warns that some of this culture has already been lost and action must be taken to prevent this from happening further.

To keep Gaelic alive we must use it for everyday things, she concludes.

Brian Taylor
BBC Scotland Political Editor

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It was, with caveats to which we shall come shortly, a customarily confident and effective performance by Mike Russell, the Minister for Mitigating Brexit (to give him his decidedly informal title.)

Speaking in Holyrood, he explained his presence there - or rather his absence from talks in London which had been pencilled in the diary in order to finalise negotiations with regard to the return of devolved powers post Brexit.

Mr Russell's absence was readily explained. He has said in the past that he is fed up attending meetings with the UK government where the principal item on the agenda is the date for the next meeting.

He was on secure ground, too, when talking about the origins of this controversy. The determination of the Scottish government to defend the devolution settlement against a "crude power grab".

The previous decision of the relevant Holyrood committee to say that the present EU Withdrawal Bill at Westminster was unacceptable in that it unreasonably held back EU powers in devolved area such as farming.

The minister noted that this committee decision had been unanimous, glancing meaningfully at the Tories, as he did so.

It was an implicit warning to the Conservatives not to shift ground. (They have, arguing that UK Ministers have moved and that it is the SNP which is now being stubborn.)

Read more here.

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The future of Gaelic in Scotland could be down to parents - even if they do not speak the language themselves, according to researchers.

The University of Strathclyde said increased use of a language at home was a "first step" in its use in wider society.

Researchers surveyed 236 parents and children on the Isle of Lewis and on Sardinia.

The study included speakers and non-speakers of Gaelic and Sardinian.

Three quarters of respondents felt speaking a minority language was equally important to speaking their national tongue.

Read more.

SNP MSP Kate Forbes gives her speech in Gaelic.

Ms Forbes says: "Mar sin, chan eil Gaidhlig na rud a tha co-cheangailte ri aon phartaidh neo aon bheachd-politigach. ‘S e direch canan a th’ann, air an cleachdadh le torr dhaoine air feadh ar duthcha gach latha."

The translation, courtesy of the kind folk in Ms Forbe's constituency office, is as follows:

"Gaelic is not associated to any one party or political belief. It's just a language, used by lots of people across the country every day."

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The SNP MSP goes on to say: "S e seo a’ phuing as cudromaich dhomhsa: chan fhaca mi riamh a’ ghràin air a Ghaidhlig cho laidir ‘s a bha i as deidh na h-oraid mu dheireadh a rinn mi ‘s a Ghaidhlig. Leis Achd na Gaidhlig agus am Plana Gaidhlig tha cothrom againn uile Gaidhlig a neartachadh agus a leasachadh, ach cuideachd feumaidh sinn torr a bharrachd a dheanamh a thaobh na argamaidean cearr a thaobh sighnichean rathaid, foghlam agus an airgaid a tha Gaidhlig a cosg.

"Tha luach ‘sa Ghaidhlig agus feumaidh sinn sin a dhearbhadh nas fhearr agus a sealtainn gu bheil taic thar-phartaidh ann airson a Ghaidhlig. Tha Ghaidhlig canan ar dùthcha air fad."

The translation for this is:

"This is the most important point for me: I have never seen the abhorrence towards Gaelic as strong it was following the last speech I delivered in Gaelic. With the Gaelic Language Act and the National Plan for Gaelic we have the opportunity to strengthen and develop all Gaelic, but we still need to do more about the false arguments regarding Gaelic road signs, education and the money spent on the language."

"There is value in Gaelic and we need to prove this and show that there is cross-party support for it. Gaelic is a language for the whole country."

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie says the number of people accessing Gaelic medium education has shot up in a very short period of time.

There is still more to do, he says, but welcomes that fact that all parties are behind plans to ensure the language can flourish.

Green MSP John Finnie begins his statement with a few words of Gaelic.

He says: "Tha mi a'smaoineachdainn gum feum a h-uile duine sabaid airson Gaidhlig."

Which translated into English means: "I think everybody should fight for Gaelic."

He then points to the benefits of being bilingual outwith the understanding of the languages themselves.

Gaelic was only something older people spoke when I was growing up in the Highlands, he says.

However many people now are making a living from the Gaelic language and culture, Mr Finnie states.

The Green MSP welcomes the funding for the new schools.

Image source, Getty images

Funding of £2.5m has been put in place for the next phase of the development of the first comprehensive Gaelic dictionary.

Faclair na Gàidhlig aims to document the history, development and use of every single word in the language.

It would be far more detailed than any dictionary available in bookshops.

The production is being made possible through a collaboration between several universities and the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture.

The latest funding announced by the Scottish government will be managed by the Scottish Funding Council.

Labour MSP Iain Gray says the Scottish school system, just a few decades ago, was not nurturing of Gaelic.

He welcomes the changes which have flowed from the Gaelic Language Act.

The 2011 census showed a slight decline in Gaelic speakers though there was an increase in the number of young speakers, he highlights.

The Labour MSP expresses concern that Gaelic has suffered due to a narrowing of the school curriculum.

He also worries about increasing pressures facing Gaelic teachers, including high workloads and not enough pay.

Gaelic is no longer dying but there is much more to do before we can claim it flourishes, he concludes.

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Tory MSP Liz Smith says she is delighted to support the government motion, the Labour amendment and moves her own amendment.

Ms Smith says it is important to ensure Gaelic speakers know they have the support of this parliament.

She praises the work of Bord Na Gaidhlig, external.

The Tory MSP says over 4,000 children being taught through the medium of Gaelic in Scotland and she warmly welcomes the announcement of a third Gaelic school in Glasgow.

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