Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We cannot seek to argue sincerely. It is not credible to tell people that we are bringing legislation recognising Irish Sign Language, ISL, as an official language of the State through the House when we cannot ask for it to be resourced. No one has gone into the specifics. Everyone appreciates that the legislation has a resource cost, but the decision ties the Seanad's hands behind its back. We must examine what we can and cannot do. I do not mean to be facetious, but I cannot get my head around this at all. I take Senator Mark Daly equally at his word. If the Government had tabled this amendment and let it form part of the legislation, it would not have been prohibited. That is a little indication and stretches my ability to take what the Minister of State is saying in good faith. If the Government had tabled this amendment as a fundamental ABC building block of the Bill, it would have empowered and resourced the legislation.

I appreciate the Chair's discretion on this matter, but the failure of the amendment to proceed, especially when Senators are working as diligently and comprehensively on this issue as Senator Mark Daly and others have worked in the past, is indicative of a broader problem as well as a broader culture that exists within these institutions.