Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, I would like to communicate something in Irish Sign Language; congratulations to the Irish Deaf Society. This is a wonderful day for everyone in the Public Gallery and it has not come a moment too soon. The Irish Deaf Society's members and their families have been campaigning for this day for 30 years. I welcome the fact that we are now at the point of ensuring that ISL finally takes its place as a fully recognised language in Ireland. I commend Senator Mark Daly and the Minister of State for ensuring that we have got to this point. Senator Daly has been working with the deaf community over several years and to finally get to this day is a wonderful achievement. Irish Sign Language is the native language of the Irish deaf community and it is used by the majority of members of that community and their families and friends. Articles 21 and 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities note the importance of recognition and the need for states to facilitate the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community. Recognition is an important step towards the realisation by wider society that ISL is not a tool used to overcome a disability but is rather an integral part of the unique linguistic and cultural identity shared by the deaf community.

I am probably the only member of the Oireachtas who holds a diploma for teachers of the deaf. I am fully recognised officially as qualified to teach the deaf but that is not really the case. I qualified many years ago and long before I came into the House, having done the official diploma for teachers of the deaf in UCD. Incredibly, there was no element whatsoever of sign language in the training course.

6 o’clock

When I started teaching in the school for the deaf, St. Joseph's in Cabra, corporal punishment had been recently outlawed. Up to then, however, children in such schools were slapped if they were caught signing. During my time at the school, which is not 100 years ago, there were notices all over the school telling the students they would be fined if they were caught signing. That was an incredibly backward attitude to what is a native language for our deaf community. I call it "backward" at this point with the benefit of hindsight. The thinking in those days was very different. There was a sense that if we concentrated on oralism deaf people would learn to speak and communicate orally and that if people started using signs they would never become oral. Of course, that was to misunderstand the situation entirely. The more enlightened thinking that it was about multiple communication arrived more recently, in the 1980s and 1990s.

It also took a long time for people to recognise Irish Sign Language officially, as opposed to Signed English. When progress started to be made in the late 1980s and 1990s on signing and as signing became more accepted in society generally, people tended to speak about Signed English. Of course, that is not what deaf people use. Deaf people use their native language of Irish Sign Language. It is an important distinction.

I am not satisfied that there is sufficient emphasis in this legislation on ensuring that teachers are adequately trained. Currently, there is no existing training course for teachers of the deaf. Most training is done in Manchester and Birmingham. There is no reason we could not have a training course in this country again. There is also no reason for not insisting on upskilling inservice courses in Irish Sign Language for teachers who currently working with the deaf. That is important.

The Bill proposes to establish training opportunities organised by the Department of Education and Skills for parents, people working with deaf people, guardians and siblings. That is most important. The lack of provision of signing is an invisible but significant barrier to accessing basic State services. The national disability inclusion strategy for 2017 to 2021 includes commitments to extend the remote interpretation service and the establishment of quality assurance and registration. However, we must go further than what is provided for in the Bill. Take the example of access to medical care. The stresses of accessing care in a medical situation are significant so it is important that interpreting services are available for that in the same way as they are available for court appearances. We are very under-resourced at present with regard to the provision of signing and ISL interpreters. We must take a significant step forward by significantly increasing those numbers.

In conclusion, I warmly welcome the Bill. It is a testament to the tireless campaigning by the deaf community over many years. It is a positive step forward but it is only the first step. I hope it represents a move towards continued engagement with the deaf community as equal citizens and ongoing development of ISL throughout the community.

See this speech in context