Ms Wendy Murray:

We have a universal neonatal hearing screening. When the hearing test takes place and a child is identified as being deaf, the common phrase is, "I am sorry your child failed the test". That amounts to setting the parents up in a particular way from the beginning. It brings about a certain devastation when they are being told their child has failed such a basic thing. We maintain there should be a provision of a broad spectrum of information in order that parents get to see their child as a human being and need not start to think that their child has some kind of limited potential or is "less than" in some way.

Irish Sign Language is a natural and beautiful language, as natural and beautiful as English and Irish. It works in a slightly different way. It is a visual language. Otherwise, there is absolutely no difference. We maintain that it should be the third official language in Ireland. However, it is the third language in Ireland and just as beautiful as the other languages.