Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending. I also thank my colleagues, Senators Labhrás Ó Murchú, Thomas Byrne and Sean Barrett for supporting this important legislation.

A number of months ago we discussed the issue of Irish Sign Language and nobody on this side of the House opposed the motion. However, we need to put the matter in legislation because the previous Government and its predecessors did not enshrine the rights of the deaf community in law. The Minister of State has engaged with the deaf community and previous governments have engaged with the deaf community yet the community does not have the same rights in terms of access to Government services like every other citizen in the State and they should have regardless of the circumstances of their birth. The Minister of State supports the concept behind what we are trying to achieve but I want to put the matter on a legislative footing so that when the Minister of State is moved on to a higher office that rights for the deaf community are enshrined in law. The provision would enable them to go to the courts, if necessary, if access to Government services, employment and other areas are not available to them in the same way that they are to any citizen.

As the Minister of State is aware - we spoke about the matter when we supported the Government's motion - an element of the Good Friday Agreement has been breached. I refer to the aspiration that languages, whether it is the Irish language, Ulster-Scots, English, British Sign Language or Irish Sign Language, are afforded recognition in the North. Recognition has been granted in the North, yet the Good Friday Agreement has not been honoured here many decades after it was signed by the Government. That situation affects the citizens of this State and it is why I ask my colleagues opposite to support the legislation. This is not about scoring points. I admit that I engaged with the officials of the previous government and they engaged with the deaf community but there was nothing in law that allowed the deaf community to say to the Government and Departments that their legal rights were being infringed. That is the issue before us today and is the reason I put forward the Bill. I want the members of the deaf community to be able to seek a remedy when they are unable to gain access.

I acknowledge the work of the Minister and other Ministers, including the Minister for Social Protection who has put in place a worthwhile and comprehensive new system whereby members of the deaf community can access social welfare in a manner that is beneficial to them. Communication systems have been put in place and thanks to modern technology interpreters can be online, as opposed to physically having to attend meetings with the social welfare Department. However, that should not be the be-all and end-all. All Departments should be required by law to do the same, not simply give a gesture to the deaf community as if it were charity. It is not charity. The community has not sought such charity but should receive access as a right.

Enshrining the provision in legislation will mean that when someone else sits in my seat - in a number of years - we will not need to debate whether an interpreter will be available to meet a consultant when a member of the deaf community goes to the doctor or the emergency department. An interpreter should automatically be available online for every accident and emergency when a member of the deaf community presents with symptoms. A worse case scenario is where nobody can communicate with a member of the deaf community when he or she presents with symptoms. The Department of Health should be required by law to put a system in place that will provide interpreter assistance for every accident and emergency. The reason that it has not been done is because it is not required to do so by law and, therefore, cannot be held accountable. As I have often said about some of the speeches given in reply to Private Members' motions tabled by both sides, they comprise almost always of off-the-shelf material.

I know the Minister is getting the same response because we are talking about the same issue. I know that, despite the fact that this legislation was written up by professional draftspersons, there will be reasons that it cannot be done. That is why I sent the e-mail to all 60 Members of the Seanad, asking them if they had any amendments they would like to make to this legislation, and explaining that, if they felt it was not on a sound legislative, legal or constitutional footing, I would be delighted to take the amendments. No such amendments came back, so the legislation we see before us is the legislation that was sent out two months ago to every Member of the Seanad. We consulted on this issue.

We are asking for support on this issue, not for any political party, for the Opposition or for the Government, but for those in the Visitors Gallery and the wider deaf community because, as citizens, they are not being treated equally in the eyes of the law. They are not able to go to a doctor or to a Government Department, or to interact with the State and with others in the same way that other members of the society are able to do. That is why we are putting in provisions in regard to television. As an aside, and I believe my colleague, Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú, might touch on this issue, one of the most watched soap operas in Ireland by the deaf community is "Ros na Rún", because it is subtitled. There is no requirement on RTE, our national State broadcaster, to have any set amount of hours that are subtitled. Under this legislation, it would be required to do so.

There are other provisions in regard to setting up a body that would oversee this, although there are arguments for and against that. I am well aware of the proliferation of quangos over the past 20 years. However, while I am not a fan of setting up further quangos, I do want to see somebody to whom the deaf community can go, whether that be the Ombudsman's office or otherwise, in the event this legislation and other elements in it were not being fully followed by the Government.

The reason we are putting forward this Bill is to ensure that when members of the deaf community go to a Government Department or speak with a Government official, they can point to a piece of law and say, "I am entitled to an interpreter and you must provide one". At this moment in time, that is not the case. When the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, put in place that provision - I commend her on doing so - she did it because she felt it was the right thing to do, which it is. However, there is no legislative compulsion on her to do it. Other Ministers should do the same thing, most especially in the area of health. However, that is not allowed for at this time. No member of the deaf community can go in and actually demand that of officials - they cannot get that remedy. I ask the Minister to look at that and to ensure that, in the lifetime of this Government, of which there is a little over two years left, the rights of all citizens, including the members of the deaf community, would be recognised on a legislative footing so they would have equal access to all elements of the State, as they should as citizens of the Republic.

I thank the sign language interpreters and all the members of the deaf community who came here today to witness the debate on this legislation. I thank the Minister of State for coming back to the House.