Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was asked to speak on this Private Members' motion and, to be honest, I did not know what to say because how does anyone explain to parents of profoundly deaf children that it is Government policy that, for the sake of €18,000, the provision of a second cochlear implant is not going to happen. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be plunged into a world of silence because I have not experienced that, as none of us in the Chamber have experienced it. It is very hard to understand what those children have to go through on a daily basis. If the Chair will bear with me, I want to try to give some example of what those children have to endure because of a lack of funding or a lack of political will and commitment to provide the funds which could make a huge difference to people's lives.

I will do so by saying nothing for the next two minutes so there will be some understanding of what those children must endure.

That was two minutes of silence. Unless there is a change in policy, a commitment is given and the funding of €12.8 million is provided, which is not much in the bigger scheme of things, the awkward silence of those two minutes in this Chamber is representative of the lifetime of silence for those children. I plead with the Minister, on a human level, to do the right thing and provide the funding to give every child the opportunity to listen and hear, a gift we in this Chamber enjoy every day. If two minutes here felt awkward, I can only imagine what a lifetime of silence would be like.

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