Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter on the Irish Sign Language, ISL, which I know is of deep personal interest to him. I thank the Minister of State for coming into this House, as I know she is personally invested in this issue. My colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has also regularly raised this issue. It is an important statement by these Houses on how we value those who are deaf or have hearing impairments as members of our society and how the legislation that is designed to support them is enforced.

Four years ago, on Christmas Eve 2017, we saw the signing into law of the Irish Sign Language Act. It was rightly recognised as transformative in the position of deaf people in Irish society. As Senators know, it followed a report from an Oireachtas committee that highlighted how deaf people were marginalised in Irish society. We have seen the contribution of those with hearing difficulties in Ireland. I refer to my Wexford colleague, Úna Walsh, who appeared on "The Late Late Show" on Friday. Over the years, many others who have hearing impairments have made significant contributions. I am rather concerned, as recently reported in the Irish Examinerby Donal O'Keeffe, that a survey by the National Disability Authority of a range State agencies found that 32%, or one third, of all public bodies were not aware of the Act and a further 20% were not aware of their responsibilities. Of the country's 16 education and training boards, only four responded to the NDA's survey.

Many tributes were paid in this House in April after we heard Andrew Geary talk about his son Callum to Ryan Tubridy. People could understand the passion Mr. Geary felt about ensuring that his son's rights, including his right to education, were vindicated. We have to ensure that right through our education system every young person, regardless of disability, has the opportunity to achieve his or her full potential. That continues to be a challenge. Given that many public bodies are not fully aware of their obligations under the Act or have not given them priority, I am concerned that there is not a real commitment to the legislation on the part of the State. It is also a worry to me that the Department of Education is not sufficiently invested to ensure that young deaf people have the necessary interpreters in place.ISL interpreting is highly specialised and, thus, it is wrong that the best the Department can offer is the salary of an SNA. The role of SNAs is important but in this case we are talking about highly qualified interpreters who are needed for educational purposes, in respect of which they must complete four years of third level education. We need to see a seriousness behind the supports that are given here.

How do we measure the success of this legislation? The success is that every young deaf person will feel that the State is responding and engaging with him or her and is allowing him or her to reach full potential. I am not convinced that this very noble Act is being taken sufficiently seriously by all arms of the State.