Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State can assist us by repeating that commitment in the Dáil Chamber. That is important for the purposes of this debate.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin made an observation about the official recognition of Irish Sign Language in Northern Ireland in 2004 and the fact that there was an equivalent provision in the Good Friday Agreement that placed on us an obligation to have equivalent, matching rights, North and South, for citizens on the island. Aside from being a basic equality imperative and the decent and right thing to do, there is a legal obligation on us to make progress in this regard.

I had an interesting debate with deaf citizens in the run-up to the general election. We reflected on the fact that this year marked the centenary of the Easter 1916 Rising and discussed the promise in the Proclamation of full equality for all citizens. To my astonishment and disappointment, I was told that people had requested copies of the Proclamation in sign language format but had been refused. This is an astonishing indictment of us all. If the Proclamation stood for anything 100 years ago, or today, it was full equality. That means the full recognition of Irish Sign Language.

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