Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have another series of questions. I ask the Minister of State to reflect on the optional protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. There are those who would like a narrow understanding of it, specifically focusing on incarceration in prisons and so on. A broad view needs to be taken of it. The convention should have application anywhere people are deprived of their liberty. The Minister of State would have an interest in that. I hope he will have discussions with the Minister for Justice and Equality, and that we can ratify the optional protocol as soon as possible. It is in everyone's interest.

I support Senator Dolan on the point he made about polling stations. Deputy Adams brought forward a Bill on this. No polling station should be used that is not fully accessible. We should put that on a legislative basis.

A number of points were made on respite. The Minister of State committed to expanding respite care. The matter is raised regularly in my constituency office by people seeking respite. I had a conversation recently on an issue that is broader than respite, namely, that of settings, on which there has been a fair bit of discussion. A parent to whom I spoke who has been regularly seeking more respite said the service is reasonable until the person cared for reaches the age of 18, after which there is a bit of a cliff edge. The person's son is profoundly autistic. The family have quite a challenging life. It is positive but challenging and it is very difficult for them to get respite. They recently asked a health service provider where their son would go if anything happened to them in the morning. They were shocked to discover there was no place in particular. The son would probably end up in hospital for a period until another setting was found. The family were quite shocked, upset and worried as a consequence. They are right because it indicates the lack of a long-term plan to offer support to individuals. There might be a bit of a plan up to the age of 18 but, beyond that, there is not. The family was rightly very concerned about this. It has made them concerned now and they are trying to figure out how best to put a plan in place. There might not be a great amount that they can do, which is quite worrying. That needs to be addressed.

I have more points to make and perhaps the Minister of State will take a note of them in order. I recently visited Cork Deaf Club. Much of the discussion was on the back of the recognition of Irish sign language. A number of significant issues still need to be addressed, however. One is that the driver theory test is quite challenging for those who are deaf or who have limited hearing. It is more difficult than it should be. This may not be so much the case with the practical test. There is a serious lack of teachers who can sign to an adequate standard. This needs to be addressed. I note that there is a course available.

This is more likely to be the case at primary level than at post-primary level, but it seems to be an issue. There also seems to be an issue with the quality of interpreters. There are many interpreters whose work is of a high standard, but there are also those whose work is not of an adequately high standard. Questions have been asked about the much-discussed voucher system. When will something like that be put in place to allow people to obtain interpreters for cultural and social events outside of those to which there is an entitlement because public services are being provided? Obviously, there needs to be an improvement with regard to public services as well. I ask the Minister of State and the witnesses to comment on the voucher system.

I wish to ask about the option of sending a text message to alert the emergency services. I think it may be available in Dublin in respect of ambulance services, but I am not sure. In other parts of the country, it is not the case that one can send a text message to alert the Garda and the other emergency services when people are in distress. I do not think it is possible to make an appointment with SouthDoc, which is the after-hours service in the HSE's southern area, by sending a text message. That is quite challenging.

I would like to mention an issue that was raised with me on another occasion. It has been suggested to me that it would be helpful if members of An Garda Síochána knew five or six basic signs. When communications difficulties arise in situations of distress, perhaps because somebody is not able to verbalise what he or she wants to say, it would be helpful if gardaí knew five or six basic signs. Perhaps that could be integrated into their training.

I was part of a delegation of Deputies from Cork that met the Minister of State approximately two years ago to discuss the lack of multidisciplinary supports for a special school in Cork. I regret to say that very little headway has been made in that regard since then. I wrote to the Minister of State recently to raise this matter again. If it has not yet been brought to his attention, that is reasonable. I would like the Minister of State to meet the delegation of Deputies from Cork again, ideally before the recess. Two years have passed and very little progress has been made in this regard.