Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I extend a warm welcome to all the members of the Irish Deaf Society who are in the Gallery with their families. It is a very proud and significant day for all of them. I also welcome the fact that we have an interpreter in the press gallery. I was very frustrated one day when I had hoped to hold a meeting with Eddie Redmond of the Irish Deaf Society and the Houses of the Oireachtas Service could not and would not provide an interpreter. I hope that will all change with this Bill. Today is a very significant day after a very long campaign lasting more than 30 years, and I commend again the Irish Deaf Society and Eddie Redmond, Senator Mark Daly and the Minister of State on bringing the Bill to where it is today. It has been the culmination of a very long struggle.

The right to use one's own language is an important human right that each person in the Gallery should have and will have when this Bill is passed. Purely because of a lack of communication over the years, the deaf community has suffered. Deaf people have through the years become one of the most marginalised groups in society, facing barrier after barrier at every stage of their lives, preventing their full participation as equal citizens. When we look back over the research, we see and must acknowledge that deaf people have faced higher unemployment rates, lower educational attainment, poorer health rates, higher risk of mental health issues and significantly decreased economic mobility. Please God, this will end. There will still be barriers and battles, but when the Bill is passed I hope life will be an awful lot easier for all of those in this community.

What will legal status in respect of Irish Sign Language, ISL, achieve? There are a number of reasons it is important for us to accord such status. From what we can see, ISL users will have more legal rights, better access to public services through ISL, which is hugely important, better education for deaf children, better third level education and training for deaf adults and better interpreting quality and monitoring. These are just five reasons the Bill is so incredibly important to all of those in the Gallery and those whom they represent. There is no doubt but that the Bill, when passed, will make a positive and meaningful difference to the quality of life for Irish Sign Language users, both the 5,000 who use it constantly and the other 40,000 who use it as a means of communication.

I commend the Bill to the House and am proud to stand with colleagues in supporting it.

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