Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I welcome the work that has been done by Senator Mark Daly and others. I also welcome those from the deaf community who join us here today; the young people and the signers who are interpreting for the people in the Visitors Gallery. Sometimes in this Chamber one knows something special is about to happen because of the attendance of Senators, the Visitors Gallery is full and because there is something in the air. In view of the campaign which was undertaken by those who feel passionately about this, there is something in the air. This issue is about silence, it is about empowerment and it is about citizenship.

If the Leas Cathaoirleach will allow, I shall speak directly to the young people here today who have been mentioned by other Senators. Often it is very difficult to stand up for yourself but it can be even more difficult to stand up for others. If you were here earlier you would have heard a conversation in the Chamber about the Traveller community. Speakers across the House spoke about the necessity to stand up and recognise the Traveller community and do better by them. If you had been in the Chamber this morning you would have heard Senators across the House speak about the issues in Aleppo and Ireland's responsibility to do something with regard to what is happening in Syria and to open our arms and our State to those who need us most. It has been said that when it comes to issues that you feel strongly about as young people, you should ask yourself, "If not me then who, and if not now then when?". As young people you have taken on this issue, you have brought it to the heart of the Oireachtas and you have made all of us who walked into this Chamber this afternoon know that something special is happening. You should be absolutely commended for that, and you should realise the power that you have.

Martin Luther King said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter". Much has been said about the 1916 Rising and the commemorations. Maybe only now are we beginning to realise the depth of the wound caused by the recession in the State, which is about eight or nine years old, and the depth of the wounds it has caused to a generation of Irish people who may know nothing else but this financial crisis. We can now reimagine the type of country we want to live in. It is about citizenship, but how can you be a citizen if you are forced to live in silence? This is not a case of Government or politicians granting something to a section of our society, because the empowerment in these situations is very important. It is about all of us, collectively, recognising the importance of citizenship.

Let us realise what is happening across the world, in the United States of America, across Europe and in the United Kingdom. Politics is turning into a section of Irish society pointing fingers and blame at others and saying the reason they are unhappy is because of that group or those people. What you are doing today is allowing people to come in and be part of the common citizenship. Often, this House and politics struggles to connect outside of these walls. What you have done, and what the deaf community is asking for, is to become part of that common citizenship.

I contend that the system should be bending over backwards to recognise a mechanism to break the silence. The Labour Party supports this Bill absolutely. I am glad that everyone in the House, across party lines, agrees - as happened this morning with the Syrian issue and as happened this afternoon with the Travellers' rights, and is happening now with regard to Irish Sign Language recognition. It brings a level of political legitimacy to the House and also gives the message to young people, to old people, to citizens who are here in the Chamber today, of the power they have. If you really want to make a change and if you believe in it enough, then there is nothing you cannot achieve.