Debate contribution: Sign Language Bill: Further Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 20 April 2026.

MLA

Mr Gordon Lyons

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

20 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Sign Language Bill: Further Consideration Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5493868

Read the official Assembly record

Text

With respect to the Member, it is not a case of me not understanding or listening to different groups. It is simply a matter of disagreeing with what she proposed based on the representations that were made to me — and not to just me — over my time in office. Indeed, this is an issue that I had an interest in long before I came into office. I was the first, along with Mrs Cameron, long before we were in this position, to lobby the then Speaker to make sure that there was provision for those who were in need. It was not just that. It was the work of my officials, who have been engaged on the issue, in some cases for longer than a decade, to make sure that we got it right. I understand the argument that she makes that everybody within the deaf community should be treated equally. Whether you are hard of hearing or whether that hardness of hearing has progressed to full hearing loss, you should be considered in the same way as those who have, for example, been deaf for the entirety of their lives. I take a different approach because I believe that we are talking about different languages and different cultures. That is the mainstream view of most people. That is the point and the case that I made at Consideration Stage. The Member — and the House — decided to go against that. What we now have now is an opportunity to steer that a little bit more in the right direction. When the Member includes the language of inclusivity, she is taking the focus away from those for whom sign language and deaf culture is not a choice. She is shaking her head. That is the case, that is what the representatives said. I have expressed my view on that. She has taken a contrary view. I do not think that we are going to come to an agreement on that. However, I welcome the fact that she accepts that there is value in the amendments that I am making, and will support them. I simply make the case to the House that sometimes things require a little more consideration and understanding of what we are actually doing. Let me just comment on some of the other speeches, and on one point in particular by the Chair of the Committee, who asked whether the EFM will be updated. I can assure him that it will. I think that that was a concern of other Members as well. Pam Cameron and Andy Allen talked about the need for ongoing engagement and resourcing. I can assure them both that that is absolutely something that we need to make sure that we do. I do not see Royal Assent of the Bill being the end, that we pack up our bags, dismantle the unit and all go home. There is work that needs to be continued, and we will do that. We also need to continue to listen because we need to make sure that the legislation is doing what we want it to do. Members will be aware of the reviews that take place as well, so we will need to make sure that we are liaising. Other issues were raised through amendments that we need to keep an eye on as well. I thank all who have been involved. I thank the OLC for its engagement, advice and support to my Bill team in getting us to this stage through some tricky drafting issues. I also thank the Speaker's Office and the Bill Clerk and her team. Most of all, I would like to thank the deaf community, which has campaigned for many long years for the Bill. I applaud the dedication and commitment of the deaf community to maintain its language and culture. Finally, I was reminded by one of my officials of a piece of advice given to them by a deaf professional many years ago on how we should interact with each other, hearing or deaf. He said:

"We can't all hear, as that is a physical sense some of us don't have, but we can all listen, as that is a choice we can all make".

I encourage Members to make that choice to listen to the deaf community and to support the amendments before the House today.

733 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification