‘We’re delighted that Leanne has given us her support,’ says Aran Jones, one of the founding members of DimeGoch.com, ‘and we hope the leadership coming from the Assembly on this campaign will encourage other public figures in Wales to get involved. DimeGoch.com is open to anyone who wants to see a successful and positive future for the Welsh language, whether or not they speak Welsh themselves. If everyone who wants to see the language thrive supports this campaign, we believe it will have a lasting, positive impact on the private sector in Wales.’

Subscribers to the website pay a minimum of £1 a month, which is spent on advertising DimeGoch.com. The intention is to develop a list of consumers who are willing to consider changing to service providers who offer services in Welsh (whether or not the consumers wish to make use of those services!). A full explanation of the site’s aims in English can be found at www.DimeGoch.com/English

‘I am very happy to support this initiative to promote the use of Welsh by business,’ says Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central. ‘For too long, Welsh speakers have been ignored by large companies who can afford to provide services in Welsh. As well as voluntary measures like these, we do need a proper Welsh Language Act to ensure that Welsh speakers have basic rights, like the right to speak Welsh in the workplace. For many years, both Tory and Labour governments adopted an approach of simply encouraging multi-national companies to recognise the language. That has not gone far enough, Plaid Cymru is committed to delivering a language act that takes a rights-based approach.’

‘This is extremely encouraging for us,’ says Aran Jones, one of the founding members of DimeGoch.com, ‘and we hope that more AMs and other public figures will follow suit in the coming months. DimeGoch.com is a positive and inclusive new approach to improving services in Welsh in the private sector, and can be supported easily by anyone, whether or not they speak Welsh. If we can reach the point where several thousand people support this approach, we believe it will have a lasting, positive impact on the private sector in Wales.’

Subscribers to the website pay a minimum of £1 a month, which is spent on advertising DimeGoch.com. The intention is to develop a list of consumers who are willing to consider changing to service providers who offer services in Welsh (whether or not the consumers wish to make use of those services!). A full explanation of the site’s aims in English can be found at www.DimeGoch.com/English

‘This is an impressive idea and an excellent possibility,’ said Nicholas Bourne, ‘and I am very happy to offer my support for it. I hope that other Assembly members will do likewise. Welsh Conservatives want to increase the use of Welsh in all spheres of life as part of our desire to create a truly bilingual Wales. Businesses should be encouraged, though not compelled, to make maximum use of the Welsh language, not erect barriers to it. Education, support and encouragement – rather than compulsion – are effective ways forward in promoting greater use of Welsh.’