Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank my two colleagues for sharing their time with me because I felt it was very important to be here. I welcome everyone in the Gallery. There is one young girl sitting up there who has been on work experience, up from Waterford, all week. Her brother is deaf, and before I came to this debate tonight, she taught me how to sign "Hello".

I welcome the report from the Committee on Justice and Equality which calls on the Government to support the Irish Sign Language Bill. I compliment the Chairman, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, on the great work of the committee. I also compliment Senator Mark Daly on the work that has taken place in the Seanad to move this forward. We hope that when this Bill is passed, it will make a positive and meaningful difference to the quality of life for Irish Sign Language users.

Under the Bill, Irish Sign Language would be designated as a native and independent language to be used as the primary means of communication by more than 5,000 members of the deaf community. We must realise and accept that Irish Sign Language is the language of the deaf community in Ireland. It is a visual, spatial language with its own distinct grammar. It is not only a language of the hands but also of the face and the body. A high percentage of adults who are deaf have low English literacy skills due to English being their second language. This creates barriers in a society that is so reliant on English. Irish Sign Language is the first and preferred language of 5,000 people who are deaf in Ireland. Some 40,000 people in general will communicate with Irish Sign Language daily.

The impact of this legislation would be truly transformative for the deaf community. It would enable Irish Sign Language to be used in legal proceedings and would require Irish television broadcasters to have subtitling on a greater proportion of broadcasts.

For interaction with social protection services, such as buying a TV licence or dealing with a local authority, the Irish deaf community has been denied equal rights and opportunities for years. When the Bill is passed, it will also require the State to provide interpreting services for students who use Irish Sign Language and would require every public body to devise and implement an action plan to promote the use of sign language in the organisation.

The legislation further proposes the creation of an Irish Sign Language council to promote the development of the language, regulate its teaching and co-ordinate interpreting services. Numerous local authorities have passed motions to date calling for the recognition of Irish Sign Language and the implementation of supports to aid the deaf community. It is important these calls are answered by the Oireachtas. This is sensible, pragmatic yet highly transformative legislation. I hope for cross-party support to bring it to the next Stage of the legislative process. I also am very disappointed that my colleagues across the House are not here this evening. Deaf people are not just represented by certain political parties. They should be represented by all political parties.

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