Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with every word that Senator Buttimer said. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, namely, that No. 128(5) be taken before No. 1. No. 128(5) states:

That Seanad Éireann calls on the Minister for Health to name the new National Children’s Hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn, noting her contribution as Chief Medical Officer in the Irish Citizen Army, and her role in establishing St. Ultan’s Hospital, one of the most important centres for paediatric healthcare in the early years of the Irish State.

I would like to touch on the issue of Claremont. I thank the Leader for organising the sign language interpreter. It was an emotional day for me because all of the people in this audience are in their 50s and 60s. All of them were in my primary school. The difference was that we were in one building and they were in a prefabricated building with the rain pouring in. This was because there was no integration for deaf children in the 1960s and 1970s. What was unusual about this particular group was that they were all raised in the faith of the Anglican Church of Ireland. The families had to mobilise themselves, hire out an old prefabricated building in a school in Monkstown village in Dún Laoghaire and have their children educated. They were not encouraged to learn in sign language at that time. It was not policy to do so. There was a pilot scheme for a school in Cabra. It allowed them to have their own identity. We talk about identity a lot in this House. They were Church of Ireland and their family wanted them to have a non-denominational education or a choice within education. I invited them here today. I had not seen any of them for over 50 years but I remember them all. When we met there were many tears and much laughter and a great sense of sound and excitement came from them, as one who deals with deafness knows. Many of them are profoundly deaf. Through our interpreter we had a conversation and I want to share three things. The strongest thing was that many people found it difficult to get a job or secondary education. They also found it difficult to sustain a relationship.

More importantly, we talked about the following matter and someone asked me to bring it wherever it needed to be brought. People with disabilities do not cease to have sexual needs. This is a matter we do not discuss - it is another taboo subject - but we all need to feel loved, wanted and accepted. We all want confirmation, affirmation and an abundance of love. That is a human need for everyone and that is my message. Through the disability sector we must continue to be strong advocates for people in residential care.

At a time when we are talking about physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse in institutions, we should think about what it must have been like to have been deaf or to be a blind child in the blind asylum in Merrion. There were all the other institutions that were meant to care for people. Think about all the people who had psychiatric illnesses. They were vulnerable. Many of them do not have the power or ability to advocate or talk.Many of them have that all locked and trapped within themselves. When we talk about all these things, it is important to remember to somehow take a look back to advocate and facilitate organisations that represent an elder group of people who were perhaps aged over 60 who were in these institutions. They, too, were hurt and feel forgotten. More importantly, however, many of them do not have the skills or ability to communicate and be a voice for themselves.