Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Níl mé ach chun a rá cúpla focal ar an mBille seo le tacú leis an méid oibre atá déanta agus leis an méid atá ráite go dtí seo. I welcome the guests in the Gallery. There are some familiar faces. They have been here on many occasions and are very welcome again today. It is hoped that we will have a positive outcome today. I welcome the signers as well for their work. The conciliatory nature of the Minister of State coming in today is important. We have seen the Bill in different guises over the past number of years and, to be quite honest, the Ministers have not been as conciliatory when they came into this House. It is good to see that there has been a change of heart on the part of the Government.

We have soldiered on the Bill for hours in this Chamber over the past number of years and I commend Senator Daly for the great work he has put into it. Fair play to him. He deserves recognition for all his work.

The Minister of State understands that we should not be patting ourselves on the back. This is a question of civil rights. This is about the rights of people who are deaf and their being able to live their lives the same way as anyone else in the State. This is about them being able to apply for a job, have an interview, engage with the courts and do whatever day-to-day business they may wish to do. They have the added difficulty of having a hearing impairment or being fully deaf and the State should have recognised this right much sooner.Let us hope this Bill moves speedily through the House. It is a good testament to the Seanad that we have had the tenacity to stick with this Bill and that it is being brought forward. The contributions across the House have been fairly unanimous that this needs to be done as quickly as possible.

I apologise that I cannot remain for the rest of the debate on the Bill. My colleague, Senator Warfield, will take it on our behalf. Sinn Féin is fully supportive of what is being achieved here today and welcomes it wholeheartedly.