Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Tá an Comhaontas Glas fíor shásta tacíocht a thabhairt leis an mBille tábhachtach seo. Ar dtús, I acknowledge and welcome the members of the Irish deaf community to the Gallery, including their interpreters and supporters who have campaigned so long for the recognition of Irish Sign Language. I commend Senator Mark Daly, who is with us this evening, on introducing the Bill in the Seanad. He took the initiative, ran with it and secured the support necessary to bring it before the Dáil. This is an important Bill and today is an important day on which we take a crucial step to recognise the basic right to communicate of more than 5,000 members of the Irish deaf community. As a councillor in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown in 2015, I received a letter from a constituent called Wendy Murray who was then the chairperson of the Irish Deaf Society. She asked me to table a motion before the council and I was delighted to do so. It received unanimous support. As has happened here today, each councillor spoke loudly and clearly in turn in support of the motion. It is a privilege to stand in the House and speak to the Bill which seeks to make that recognition a reality.

The Irish Deaf Society has stated that the failure to recognise the Irish Sign Language by the State puts the health and well-being of deaf people at risk as they often struggle to avail of vital health and educational services. Many of the private and public services so many of us take for granted are inaccessible to deaf people. It is essential that public bodies be required to provide the necessary interpretive services for deaf people. I cannot even begin to contemplate how frustrating it must be for a person who is deaf to engage with a public body. I refer to simple, daily acts I take for granted like contacting a local authority or departmental office which becomes increasingly frustrating for those who are deaf because there is no one on the other side of the counter who can interpret or communicate with them. Irish Sign Language gives thousands of Irish people the invaluable gift of communication.

The Irish Deaf Society has campaigned for more than 30 years to have Irish Sign Language officially recognised to ensure equality for deaf people. All those people want is to secure the right to full participation as citizens. The availability of services and information, as guaranteed by law, is the only means to ensure that deaf people have the opportunity to access and participate fully in society. I welcome the Bill, which seeks to ensure that members of the deaf community can participate fully as citizens by legally guaranteeing the right to access information in what is their first, and for so many, only language. The Green Party, Comhaontas Glas, is happy to support the Bill.

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