Máire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill. I also welcome those present in the Visitors Gallery which is full and includes members of the deaf community who are in school. Our visitors from Bishopstown community school are in the part of the Visitors Gallery that is normally restricted to visiting presidents and other VIPs.

The deaf community has taken a long road and spent many years in getting this far. Senator Mark Daly has pushed this issue for a long time. It sticks in my throat a little that it has taken so long to get this far. I am sure the schoolchildren present feel as if this debate has been ongoing for ages. The way the Seanad works is that two hours have been provided for this debate because it is so important. Schoolchildren probably find the first three speeches fine, but after that, I am sure they would like us to move along or perhaps shut up and do what it is we are supposed to do.

Having received many letters and postcards, I was delighted to invite our visitors to the Seanad and I am pleased that they made the effort to travel to Dublin to make their presence so strongly felt. Irish Sign Language is vital and provides a sense of belonging and identity for its users. It is not enough to say deaf people will at some stage become a little more equal or be included a little more in society. This legislation will break some of the longstanding barriers facing them and help the process of disability and equality proofing in society.

I echo the concerns expressed by previous speakers about resources. While the Bill will be passed - hip, hip, hooray - the challenge will be to ensure resource issues do not become a barrier to full implementation of the legislation. I hope the Minister of State is listening attentively because deaf people face enough barriers in their lives. I ask him to provide the necessary funding to speed up and implement the legislation. I say, "Go raibh míle maith agaibh and well done," to everybody.