Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Nelson Mandela said:

If you talk to a man in a language he understands that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart.

That is a very important sentiment as we reflect on the passage of the legislation.

I led the Sinn Féin team on the Act in the last Oireachtas, and colleagues have rightfully acknowledged the Cathaoirleach's leading role in that legislation. I celebrate the passage of the Act. Being involved with it was a very positive experience. We now need to be at a point where we move beyond that celebration and, as Senator Conway rightly said, we are talking about its implementation, roll-out and effectiveness within the community in a way that positively impacts and enfranchises members of our deaf community. The Act also informs and assists all of us, as Senator Garvey rightly said, in terms of how we, as parliamentarians, legislators and citizens, engage with and understand our deaf brothers and sisters in a better way.

I have a series of questions for the Minister of State. She touched on quite a few of them in her opening remarks. I hope we see her back here soon to discuss this issue. I want her to tell us how it is going so that we, on behalf of those whom colleagues have rightly acknowledged, are able to hold the legislation to account. As someone who is very proud and active in the Irish language community, I know that legislation is not a panacea and does not cure all ills in respect of linguistic issues.

While colleagues have rightly said that this is an issue of rights, equality and societal justice, for me it is also an issue of fundamental liberation. This is about liberating people. One of the key phrases we consistently heard during the passage of the Act in the last Seanad was the extreme marginalisation faced by the deaf community. That is how they put it. That took many forms, some of them very tragic and devastating for the community. Others were quite mundane and affected things that the rest of us would take for granted in our day-to-day lives.

The deaf population of the State, including people watching today, are delighted that we are happy. Equally, I am sure they also want to see action, delivery and results. The Cathaoirleach and I will disagree on a lot of things, but on this issue we have a champion.

I will flag something as a warning. The only time we see headsets in here is when there are specific statements on the Irish language. I do not want it to be the case that someone is only speaking in Irish Sign Language in the corner of a television screen when there are specific debates on issues around the deaf community. All issues impact on the deaf community. The community is us and we are them. We need to take steps, but today is a day of reflection on, and acknowledgement of, the hard work and effort put in by a range of people, not least the deaf community and representative groups. We should have a very keen eye on this the next time the Minister of State is in the House. It is to be hoped she will have a lot of good and positive progress to report.