John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As others have done, I welcome the strong representation of people in the Gallery today. I know many of them over the years. I am pleased to compliment Senator Mark Daly on the work that has been done collaboratively with the Minister of State and his officials to be able to get to this point today. I congratulate them all on being able to do it.

Not wishing to put a sting in the tail, reference was made to the availability of sign language interpretation yesterday. That happened because it was brought to people's attention yesterday. It was not planned. I mentioned this earlier today and I am not trying to go over old ground, but the point is that all too often we presume everything will be okay for everyone or that everyone can hear or read in the same way. That is not so, which is why a cultural shift and the push to have this happen is important.

I know of no other group across the broad disability family that feels exclusion so innately as those who are deaf. Many of us take for granted the ability to be involved ordinarily in human intercourse with others and to hear. I hope a lesson has been learned from yesterday, which is that it is important these things happen. It was not important just for deaf people that there was sign interpretation. It was important for everyone else watching it to realise that some of our neighbours do not get the updates and do not know what is happening. It is a reminder or a little sting for the rest of us to think about others who cannot pick things up in the easy way and the usual way that we can.

We should all be grateful for the determination of those who are deaf, their families their and supporters and the huge reserve of work they carried out before this got to Senator Mark Daly.