Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is mian liom fáilte a chur roimh na daoine atá linn sa Teach inniu freisin. I would like to start by commending Senator Mark Daly on bringing this Bill forward. Indeed, he has played quite a pioneering role in this House with legislation for people who sometimes do not get the profile they deserve.

I have found the Bill inspirational and informative. I say "informative" because it is only when it is brought forward as a proposed piece of legislation that we can stop, reflect and research. All of a sudden, we are introduced to a whole new world, a world that was there but that, to some extent, we had not interacted with. I have always been fascinated by sign language, even though I do not understand it, and I always wished I did understand it, in the same way as any other language that I have not taken time out to study and to use. I am fascinated by it, in particular by the movements, because the movements are not just of the hand, they are of the face and of the body. That is what sign language is. Even when I am watching it, whether on television or otherwise, I can sense a fluency coming from the people who are using that language. That is what is important.

The deaf community do not want to be regarded as impaired in any way. They have a language of their own. That language has a grammar of its own and it also has nuances and a culture of its own. If we bear that in mind, and regard it as the third indigenous language on this island - Irish, English and Irish Sign Language - then we start to open our own minds in debating issues like this. There are those who are now totally dependent on that language to communicate, and not just among themselves because they must also communicate with family members and others. This is the essence of the Bill. We are talking about communication with the wider public. It may be in the areas of interpretation or it may be in the area of basic rights, but it is more than that. They want to be able to communicate. I do not know if Members have ever watched some of the political conventions in America, where there is signing of what is happening at the convention. This does not in any way distract and one begins to realise this is a bilingual communication that is taking place through television at that particular time.

Why is legislation important? Why must it be enshrined in law? I ask Members to cast their minds back a short number of years to a time when the new comhionannas teanga or language equality legislation was brought in by a previous Government. That gave a particular right and equality to the Irish language. For example, it specifically mentions 600 State agencies that must provide a bilingual service, with many other requirements also. The interesting thing is that once the legislation came in, it did away with a lot of destructive debate because it became a reality - it was de facto. That is precisely what I see happening with this Bill. Once it is there, it will be accepted. The implementation may require that we overcome certain challenges, but who has the right to say that any section of the community is not entitled to full recognition?

It is interesting that in Europe it has already been stated that all states should work towards what is being requested here. I can think back to a time some 25 years ago, when the new European legislation on minority languages was brought forward not just in Ireland, but throughout the whole European Union. During that period, all the necessary structures were put in place. There will not be much reinventing of the wheel because, if one looks at what is required for the minority languages and then looks at the legislation in this State regarding equality of languages, we have the basis of the structure already in place.

I am not going to make any political point on this because there is not a person in this Chamber, present or not present, who will not agree 100% with the spirit of this legislation. However, I believe there is a fear that what will happen is that, in some way, some small "handout" will be given, although I do not mean that in any insulting way. It has to be much more fundamental than that. Why should a person who goes into a court of law be made to feel diminished or inferior when they are not in any sense? They absolutely are not. They just have a different method of communication. However, how can that be accomplished, for example, in the courts?

How can it be accomplished with any State agency, in the public sector, on public transport and in so many other areas? It would be gratifying and uplifting for the spirit to take away the mental obstacles once and for all, and start seeing obstacles before we even reach them. Would it not be great for the spirit and morale of this nation to take on board what is in this legislation, which Senator Daly has gone to so much trouble to draft? The spirit of what is required by the Irish Deaf Society is enshrined in this legislation as well.

I hope this Bill will not be stopped at this Stage and that we will let it go forward to the next Stage. As I said earlier when I referred to this being informative, I have learned a great deal in the last few days, prompted by this Bill, because I went to the trouble of doing so. A new discourse has been opened. That discourse can be expanded and enhanced on Committee Stage in the House. Many other nations will watch us to see if we baulk at the high fence, as they say in my part of the country, when there is a way of circumventing it. I commend the Bill to the House. I hope it will not stop today but will be allowed to move to the next Stage.