Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support those who are promoting this Bill. I welcome our visitors in the Gallery. I commend their campaign and wish them well. As others have said, this campaign is supported by all sides of the House. I acknowledge the work that has been done by the Minister of State and by my colleagues on the other side of the House. As Senator Conway has said, several Senators have raised this in the past. I commend my party colleagues - Senators Daly, Ó Murchú and Byrne - for bringing forward this Bill and trying to bring some cohesion to what has generally been a useful debate. I suppose it is a question of highlighting the issue and trying to move the debate on. I commend Senator Daly, in particular, because he has been very proactive on this and many other issues that affect people who are on the margins, to a certain extent, and out of the mainstream. I would like to praise the tremendous work he is doing in that regard.

It is important to acknowledge that we are talking about a human right. I think it is a right that will happen. I do not know whether it will happen today. I can understand the Government's reluctance to accept Opposition Bills. I would prefer if we did not divide on this issue as it is too important for that. I hope the Government might be prevailed upon by the end of the debate to accede to letting this Bill go forward to Committee Stage. I do not have much more to say. I have some personal experience in this regard. My family was in the menswear business for generations. During that time, we employed quite a number of tailors. A significant proportion of them were people from the deaf community. I think tailoring work was compatible with their affliction, if that is the appropriate word to use. As a small boy, I learned some rudimentary sign language. I used to be fascinated by it. I gained a great deal by engaging with those tailors, who enlivened my days. Unfortunately, I have forgotten it all now apart from a few rude bits. I empathise with the deaf community in a special way on account of that. I hope we can find agreement on this Bill.