Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for such a comprehensive summary of progress. Her sign language skills were very good and I commend her on her efforts in that regard. I also pay tribute to an Cathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, for his vision and commitment over the years to bringing this legislation to fruition. I thank him for all of his efforts. I was very proud to be one of the proposers of the legislation in 2017 but it was the Cathaoirleach who championed this issue from the outset.

One of my first memories after my election to Seanad Éireann was of being metaphorically pounced upon by Senator Mark Daly to talk about Irish Sign Language legislation. It was what he wanted to see passed in his term in the Seanad. I commend him on having the vision to bring forward a Bill on Irish Sign Language. As we know, language rights are human rights, and that is the case for all languages, be it the Irish language or Irish Sign Language. Language rights are directly linked with human rights.

The Cathaoirleach referred to two very tragic deaths. None of us will forget the day we passed the legislation and the tributes we paid to the two men who died. Without doubt, deaf people are among the most marginalised groups in the country. This legislation starts us on the long road towards equality for deaf people. We are not going to reach the end of that road any time soon. I know the Minister of State is personally committed to this, as are many Members of both Houses. I hope we will all travel this journey together in the years ahead.Having the commencement order on 23 December is probably the best Christmas gift the deaf and the hard of hearing community, and their families, can get this year. It has been an incredibly difficult year. I know from people who are deaf or hard of hearing who contacted my office that they are having a particularly difficult time. As people are wearing face masks, the inability to lip-read has had a significant impact on their health and well-being and their ability to make their way in the world. This Act is a good recognition of the difficult time they have had in recent months. This is a fantastic occasion.

I am very glad the Minister of State referenced the Irish Sign Language, ISL, interpreters assisting the Department of Health with the health briefings. The symbolism of that alone was very significant. The more people outside the Irish Sign Language community see of that the more it normalises it and inspires other people to take those lessons and to better include the deaf people living within our communities.

I would like to pay tribute to two other sign language interpreters, Amanda Coogan and Aisling Dragoi - I hope I pronounced Aisling's surname properly - who interpreted the recent "Late Late Toy Show" and did a fantastic job. I do not know if anyone saw their interpreting of the toy show but it was only the second year the toy show was interpreted in Irish Sign Language. That is probably as a direct result of the vision the Cathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, had a number of years ago. That toy show was the most widely watched ever and it was the most watched programme in the country. It was watched abroad also. To have those two interpreters interpret with such enthusiasm and dance along to every song being sung included deaf children and their families - I am sorry but I am getting emotional even thinking about it - and made their Christmas special. I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Minister of State very much for that.

I was particularly glad to hear in the Minister of State's contribution that the Courts Service will have the responsibility of providing interpreters for civil litigation procedures. That is ground-breaking because up until that time, nobody could take the financial risk of bringing any civil litigation proceedings. It is a big enough risk taking a case but to have that extra risk heaped on people just because they are deaf was an outrageous barrier to access to justice. I am particularly happy to see that.

I am particularly happy to see also that my local university, Dublin City University, will be providing the new Irish Sign Language bachelor of education course to further assist deaf and hard of hearing children in our education system and to allow those children aspire to be teachers. The most wonderful thing any child can have is the aspiration to achieve their goals.

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive run-down of the legislation. I will celebrate with a glass of champagne on 23 December and I will brush up on my Irish Sign Language skills on that day to celebrate with her everybody involved.