Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank you for selecting this matter, a Cheann Comhairle. I speak not only for myself but for all members of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality, including my colleague, Deputy O'Callaghan, who has also signed up to this.

We are deeply concerned. Approximately 200 people from the deaf community attended an emergency meeting last Saturday in Deaf Village Ireland to get an update on the imminent closure of vital services that are provided by the Irish Deaf Society, which is again facing financial crisis due to a lack of structural funding.

The IDS is unique. It is deaf-led and it provides services through and does its work through Irish Sign Language. It is an absolute irony that those of us in the committee that was proud to deliver ISL as an official language of Ireland are now seeing the organisation at the helm of delivering the services and access to supports for this language facing imminent closure. We are shocked and deeply concerned. Without the Irish Deaf Society it will be virtually impossible for the deaf community to access these services. Many people at the meeting at the weekend questioned whether this is happening because they do not get access to the airwaves - in that sense their voice is silenced.

We should be in a position where the society is looking at expanding services and where ISL is taught to hearing people so that deaf people can become an integral part of our communications. The society provides advocacy services and deaf literacy and the Irish Sign Language academy is needed now more than ever. We really need this issue addressed now in the short term. Moreover, we need a more long-term structural funding basis and support for the society.

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