Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Geary made an enormous contribution to the Irish Sign Language Act for the deaf community. I will put that on the record, because the deaf community had been championing recognition for sign language as one of the languages of the State, along with Irish and English, for four decades. Members of the deaf community were not able to access State services or be treated the same as other citizens of this State. Mr. Geary championed that issue, especially on the education element, and the legislation got passed. I will tell the committee how great that achievement was, in that it was only the sixth time in approximately 70 years, since the establishment of the Constitution, that Opposition legislation was passed in the Seanad. Mr. Geary's achievements are considerable, but he is challenging the system again through the courts. I thank him for all his work and service.