Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to chair this important debate on the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 commencement review. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to the House. I thank the Minister of State for coming in for this important debate on the commencement of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017. I thank Members for taking the time to come here today. As Members know, three years ago we passed the Irish Sign Language Bill in the Seanad and the Dáil and then it came back to the Seanad and it was eventually signed by the President on Christmas Eve 2017. This is important legislation because it gives human rights to the members of our deaf community and to the 50,000 Irish Sign Language users in Ireland.

Three years ago, when we passed the Bill, we dedicated it to the memory of Daniel and William McCarthy, who were in their 70s and who died in extreme isolation in Dublin. They were deaf brothers who lived together and they died together in tragic circumstances. They were buried in Dingle in their native Kerry. The importance of the Bill is highlighted by the fact that we are here today to look at how far we have come in giving those rights of access to State services to members of the deaf community and to inform them of their rights. We have come a long way but we have a long way yet to go in the fight for equality for all of our citizens. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for taking the time to come to the House to discuss the commencement of the Act.