Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am afraid the Minister of State and I misunderstand one another. Fewer than 50 people benefitted from the services of the Anne Sullivan Centre, which is a primary residential care centre. I am referring to people who are living in society. The 2011 census gave us a figure of 10,365 for people who indicated that they have a combination of the disabilities. The key is the combination of one or more of the disabilities of hearing difficulty and sight loss. It is a question of suffering from the conditions simultaneously. It is not a question of hearing loss or blindness, it is a matter of when a person has both. That is the key and that is what we are discussing today.

There is no register for deaf-blind people, yet there is a register for blind people and for deaf people. That is the issue. There is no register for people who are deaf-blind or who have Usher syndrome. This issue has fallen through the cracks. Please God, this is my second last day in the Seanad and I will not be back here again, but I will fight my cause in the outside world on this matter. It is a serious matter that deaf-blindness is not recognised on the database.