Irish in Business – RoI & NI Survey Data

Irish in Business – RoI & NI Survey Data 22nd December 2005 Foras Na Gaeilge

Table of Contents • Introduction • Background & Methodology • Population Profiles • Findings • Management Summary

Introduction

Background & Methodology • Foras na Gaeilge is the body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the Island of Ireland. • As part of its advisory capacity, Foras na Gaeilge commissioned TNS mrbi to gauge public reaction to the increased use of Irish by businesses. • Omnibus research was identified as the optimum means of accessing a large, nationally representative sample of adults in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. • All interviews were conduced by telephone and respondents were selected for interview using RDD (Random Digit Dialling). • The survey findings were weighted to reflect the most recent census data for each region i.e. the 2001 Northern Ireland Census and the 2002 Cenusus in the Republic.

Background & Methodology • Details of the fieldwork for each element of the research is as follows:

Population Profiles ‘000’s

Findings

Description Of Level Of IrishBase: All Respondents All Ireland (1,527) % RoI (1026) % NI (500) % Very good (5) Quite good (4) Quite poor (3) Very poor (2) None (1) Don’t know/refused 2.6 Mean 3.0 1.5

Profile Of Irish Speakers • Roughly 2 in 5 of those who claim to have very good Irish in the Republic are under 24 years/live in Munster • One third of those who claim to have very poor Irish in the Republic are from a C2DE background (skilled and unskilled working classes) • Those with a very good/good Irish language ability in the North are found almost exclusively outside Belfast (98%)

Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level Profile Of Irish Speakers *Caution small base

Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level Favourability Towards Increased Visibility Of Irish In Advertising & MarketingBase: All Respondents All Ireland (1527) % RoI (1026) % NI (500) % Very much in favour (5) Somewhat in favour (4) Neither (3) Somewhat opposed (2) Very much opposed (1) Don’t know Mean 3.6 4.2 3.9 3.6 3.3 3.0 3.1 4.2 3.9 3.5 2.8 3.5 *Caution small base

Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level Favourability Towards Increased Visibility Of Irish In Advertising & Marketing X AgeBase: All Respondents All Ireland (1527) % RoI (1026) % NI (500) % Very much in favour (5) Somewhat in favour (4) Neither (3) Somewhat opposed (2) Very much opposed (1) Don’t know Mean 3.6 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.1 3.4 3.3 3.1 3.0 2.9 3.5 *Caution small base

Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level Favourability Towards Increased Visibility Of Irish In Advertising & Marketing X Social ClassBase: All Respondents All Ireland (1527) % RoI (1026) % NI (500) % Very much in favour (5) Somewhat in favour (4) Neither (3) Somewhat opposed (2) Very much opposed (1) Don’t know Mean 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.1 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.5

Profile Of Those In Favour/Opposed To Increased Visibility Of Irish In Advertising & Marketing Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level

Favourability Towards Increased Use Of Irish By BusinessesBase: All Respondents Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level All Ireland (1527) % RoI (1026) % NI (500) % Very much in favour (5) Somewhat in favour (4) Neither (3) Somewhat opposed (2) Very much opposed (1) Don’t know Mean 3.3 4.1 3.6 3.2 2.9 2.5 2.8 3.9 3.4 3.1 2.6 3.1 *Caution small base

Favourability Towards Increased Use Of Irish By Businesses X AgeBase: All Respondents Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level All Ireland (1527) % RoI (1026) % NI (500) % Very much in favour (5) Somewhat in favour (4) Neither (3) Somewhat opposed (2) Very much opposed (1) Don’t know Mean 3.3 3.6 3.4 3.1 3.1 3.1 2.8 3.0 3.1 2.8 2.9 2.6 3.1 *Caution small base

Favourability Towards Increased Use Of Irish By Businesses X Social ClassBase: All Respondents Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level All Ireland (1527) % RoI (1026) % NI (500) % Very much in favour (5) Somewhat in favour (4) Neither (3) Somewhat opposed (2) Very much opposed (1) Don’t know Mean 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.2 3.3 2.8 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.8 3.1

Profile Of Those In Favour/Opposed To Increased Use Of Irish By Businesses Pink = Sig @ 99% level Grey = Sig @ 95% level

Favourability Profiles • Support for the increased use of Irish in advertising and marketing is, broadly speaking, strongest amongst those who have some proficiency in the language and weakest amongst those who do not – but this relationship is not exclusive! • In the Republic, 1 in 4 of those who favour the increased use of Irish in advertising and marketing have very poor/no Irish ability. • Conversely, a similar proportion of those opposed to the idea in the Republic claim to have very/quite good Irish. • Over half of those opposed to the proposition are aged 45+ years – this applies both sides of the border! • Similar trends are apparent in terms of support for increased use of Irish by businesses.

Types Of Initiatives Would Like To See Introduced By Businesses?Base: All In Favour Of Increased Use Of Irish By Businesses All Ireland (609) RoI (492) NI (117) An Irish speaking employee to answer queries Wider use of Irish signs on business premises Wider use of Irish on packaging/instructions Wider use of Irish on forms/documents/ statements/bills Don’t know/refused 64% 66% 56% 50% 5%

Spontaneous Awareness Of Brands/Products/ Services With An Irish NameBase: All Respondents

Management Summary

Management Summary Irish language Ability • Approximately 1 in 12 adults in the Republic of Ireland claim to have a very good Irish ability. • Whilst there is some difference between the question and survey methodology, the broad profile of those who claim to have a good Irish ability shows little change when compared to the profile of those with a very good ability to speak Irish in the 1999 research, i.e. those with the greatest proficiency in Irish are skewed towards the youngest age cohorts. • In Northern Ireland, 7 in 10 adults claim to have no Irish at all. • Those with no ability in the Irish language in RoI and in the North show some similarities – both have a slightly higher than average representation of males and the over 55’s.

Management Summary Increased Visibility in Advertising & Marketing • In the Republic, approaching 6 in 10 are in favour (to any extent) of the increased visibility of Irish in advertising and marketing. The level of support in the North is roughly half that level, where one third are in favour of the proposition. • In Northern Ireland over 4 in 10 were neither in favour nor opposed to the concept – a figure which may reflect the low level of claimed Irish ability in the region. • Opposition to the increased use of Irish in advertising is at very simliar levels in both jurisdictions with 1 in 5 opposed to the concept. • Although we are not strictly comparing like with like, it would seem that this support for increased use of Irish in advertising in the Republic has not changed significantly since the 1999 research, which indicated that 59% of adults favoureda continued/wider use of Irish in advertising.

Management Summary Increased Use Of Irish By Businesses • Support for the increased use of Irish by businesses in day-to-day dealings is recorded at a somewhat more modest level than the increased use of Irish in advertising – 49% are in favour of the proposition in the Republic (59% favoured an increased use in advertising). • This shiftedhas occurred at the negative end of the scale - opposition to the concept increased by 11 percentage points and a similar pattern is evident in Northern Ireland. • There is widespread support for the initiatives put to respondents on each side of the border amongst those who are in favour of the increased use of Irish by businesses. • Not surprisingly there is a correlation between one’s Irish language ability and support for the increased use of Irish i.e. those with the greatest ability register the highest levels of support, whilst those with lowest ability are least likely to be in favour of either proposition.

Management Summary • However, it is important to note that abilty and support are not mutually exclusive! • As many as 4 in 10 in the Republic and 1 in 5 in the North of those who claim to have no Irish, are in favour of the increased use of Irish in advertising! • Similarly, a quarter of those with no Irish ability in the South and 1 in 6 of those with no Irish langauge abilty in Northern Ireland, favour the increased use of Irish by businesses. Awareness of Brands • Mentions of brands/products with an Irish name were very modest in both surveys and in many cases, the top 10 mentions tend to be government/semi-state organisations. • Mentions of brands/products was highest in the south – where Siucra was the most widely recalled brand (14%) followed at some remove by Fiacla (6%).

Recommendations & Conclusions • The increased use of Irish in advertising has slightly greater appeal than that of the increased use of Irish by businesses. From the perspective of those with limited/no language ability, it is less initimidating to engage in Irish in a passive manner, such as that afforded by advertising/marketing, than it is to transact with businesses through the medium of Irish. • However, it is possible that the increased use of Irish in advertising will generate greater interest and confidence in using the language, thus making the incorporation of Irish into other business interfaces more acceptable and accepted in the future. • It is encouraging to see such moderate opposition levels to an increased use of Irish in the North, given the vast majority of the population have no language ability. Additionally, there is little difference between the initiatives that people would like to see adopted amongst those in favour of the increased use of Irish in day to day business dealings. This offers huge potential to develop a coherent, cross-border strategy that can be used by businesses in both regions.

Irish in Business – RoI & NI Survey Data