Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Seanadóir Ó Domhnaill as ucht a chuid ama a roinnt liom. I would like to add my voice in support of this excellent Bill and commend Senator Daly on bringing it forward. I also welcome those from the coalface, the experts and the members of the deaf community who have joined us here today.

Like others, I too was impressed to be contacted by so many people. I noticed two things in particular. I heard from a lot of people I know who either have family or professional connections. These include people working in chaplaincy, members of the deaf community themselves and others who are involved in education. We get so many e-mails and there is so much lobbying, but the content and the people who were writing to us made it impossible to ignore what we were getting.

The other thing that struck me was the richness of the real-life stories, although on occasion they were also very sad. We have heard some of them here today. We were reminded of cases where, for example, deaf people were badly treated in hospitals. In one case a number of years ago, a man set out to walk 50 miles home to Clifden but was killed on the way. Having been delivered by taxi to a hospital, he was not helped in the appropriate way to get transport home. That is just one of many stories. We have been reminded, of course, that it is not all doom and gloom, that there is a vibrant deaf community and that Irish Sign Language is rich and capable of expressing every kind of concept.

It is our duty to ensure what will happen, hopefully, in legislation will be followed up with resources and practice. I have also heard from people who are anxious to keep the St. Joseph's centre open. We were reminded of just how difficult it can be when members of the deaf community find themselves isolated in nursing home situations and have no one they can contact. While the HSE might have a particular policy about care within the community as opposed to congregated settings, which might be very wise, it is also important to have facilities that can provide top notch attention and amenities to those in the deaf community. We need to honour and respect that viewpoint as well.

I conclude with words of thanks and continuing support. I know the Minister of State cares about this issue and we hope the Government follows up with the necessary action.