Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

History was made here today because I do not recall a Member, a Cathaoirleach or a Minister ever speaking in sign language in this House.It is yet another first in the Seanad Chamber. The work the Cathaoirleach has done on this issue has been immense. I can stand here in front of him and say that we would not be where we are today but for what he did, his commitment and dogged determination over the last number of years to get this over the line. I will never forget that Christmas Eve in 2017, speaking to the Cathaoirleach on the phone when the President signed the legislation into law. As far as I am concerned, it was probably one of the most important pieces of legislation we ever put through this House. One might say three years is a long time to commence it but, when one looks at many pieces of legislation that we have had in this country and the length of time it has taken to commence legislation, 36 months is not bad. Why has that happened? It has happened because people like the Cathaoirleach, the Minister of State and other colleagues in the House did not stop campaigning. The Bill was a first step. Bills are great, putting legislation through is fantastic and it is what we are here for. However, it is when legislation works its way down to helping people and getting people the type of equality they need and deserve that it really works because that is when history is made.

We are now at another incrementally important step: the commencement of the Act. The Minister of State will have done her bit in terms of signing the necessary orders and so on. Now it is up to the Secretaries General of the various Departments, the public bodies, institutions and third level bodies to implement the law. We will have to keep an eye on them to make sure they are doing so. When the Minister of State addresses us afterwards or, if she does not, when she comes in again, perhaps she will talk about how she sees us monitoring this to ensure it is implemented, that there are proper complaints procedures and how that will work.

There is nothing as challenging as not being able to hear and relying on movement and so on. The public were brought a long way in this conversation with the HSE briefings on Covid-19 and the constant presence of people like Lisa Harvey in the background delivering the message in Irish Sign Language. They did a phenomenal job in raising awareness. The six interpreters that worked on the HSE, Government and Department of Health briefings did a phenomenal job and we owe them a debt of gratitude. They are the ones we see but the ones we do not see interpreting every day of the week in various circumstances in families, institutions and workplaces and so on are fantastic people as well. I am delighted that Dublin City University is playing its part because the biggest challenge we will have is the availability of interpreters. I hope the Minister of State through her good offices and through the Minister for Education will ensure that whatever funding is needed to develop and to support programmes will be in place.

I would love to be able to do some Irish Sign Language, as the Cathaoirleach and the Minister of State did. I remember in University College Dublin attending a sign language lesson when I was a student. The realisation hit me quickly that someone with a visual impairment will find it hard to pick up sign language by watching. I am sure there are other ways of doing it so I will have to become more creative in how I go about learning. The Cathaoirleach and the Minister of State have given me inspiration to try and take baby steps in learning it. The more languages we have, the better, especially of our own native languages. This is our third language, thanks to the Bill passed in this House.

I thank the Minister of State. After less than six months in office, to deliver this is a fantastic achievement. As Senator Boyhan and others have said, she has only just begun.