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MEMBERS OF THE Deaf community have criticised RTÉ for its decision to transmit the Eurovision Song Contest without sign language.
The Austrian broadcaster ORF is transmitting the contest with an International Sign language (ISL) feed.
DeafHear has said nine European broadcasters have agreed to use this feed, but RTÉ has declined to do so.
Brendan Lennon, a spokesperson for DeafHear, said: “This was an ideal opportunity for our national broadcaster to include the Deaf community in the most watched television programme of the year.”
“What is particularly annoying is that there would have been no extra cost involved for RTÉ to have transmitted the programme with sign language on its internet streaming site.”
Speaking on behalf of the Irish Deaf Society, Susan Whelan said RTÉ’s decision was “disappointing”.
“The Deaf community are used to being left out and marginalised for many current and public events. The reasons offered usually include the issue of who pays for the sign language interpreter. On this occasion, RTÉ have been given an opportunity to include the Deaf community and they have chosen to refuse it.”
‘Not Free’
A spokesperson for RTÉ said the broadcaster is “committed to serving our hard-of-hearing and Deaf communities as demonstrated by our in-house subtitling team supplying subtitles on all three of the Eurovision Song Contest events this week”.
They added that the ISL feed referenced by DeafHear was “not entirely free as suggested and did involve costs for RTÉ”.
The spokesperson said RTÉ Access Services “selects programmes to ensure we continue to deliver the best value for our audiences, including the hard-of-hearing and Deaf communities”.
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All talk and no BO%%OX
@David: The boy does what the EU tell him to do, you can bank on it, the review mechanism for the Brexit backstop is an EU led proposal. It’s not like we have never been shafted by the EU before
@Dáithí O Raghailaigh: But it’s obviously not an EU led proposal though. Jesus do you have to blame the EU for everything?
@Ricky Spanish: yes they do…always need to have a big boy to blame so you can duck responsibility yourself.
@David: Really? The DUP are calling him intransigent…that’s exactly what I want them to think.
@Ricky Spanish: we would not even consider that unless there was pressure from the EU
@David: spot on david. Weakest leader never voted in. Spineless coward!
@Eugene Tyson: Rubbish
@David: All along the united stance from us and the EU has been that the UK can propose any deal they like so long as there is a proper backstop. IF and yes it’s a big IF this actually allows a deal to be made, good for them.
I’m no fan of FG and I think the housing crisis is hurting our ability to weather Brexit but on this, the answer is obvious. Let the Tories have more rope, it’s either a lifeline or more to hang themselves with. It doesn’t take much to say no to anything and everything that doesn’t involve a proper backstop and that’s not what this is.
He’s finally realising he’s a little boy in a deep pool full of sharks who are happy to toss him around for fun. Poor fella.
@Dr Richard DeWitt: How Richard? Can I assume you’ve cast experience in negotiation, to be able to read into this from afar?
@Dr Richard DeWitt:
He’s going to have to get his uncle Juncker to sort them out.
@Dr Richard DeWitt: When you get a Shark on it’s back it enters a kind of stupified paralysis. Old Britannia is legs akimbo in front of the world right now, like a gin soaked great aunt who has fallen over at a wedding. Must be hard viewing for a pretentious little Walter Mitty like youself?
Getting close to the time to find out:
1. Does Leo have the nerve?
2. Will Europe throw us under a bus (again)?
Interesting times.
@angryDuck: EU can’t throw us under the bus, we have a right to veto any deal.
@B9xiRspG: ways can be found to force us to accept a ‘deal/compromise’ which avoids the veto. When the crunch comes, we will see who is more important, peace in Ireland or German car manufacturers!
@angryDuck: Do you really not know the answer to your question?Well I’ll tell you anyway…..BMW,Mercedes,VW etc.
@Billy McNamara: PS,have you forgotten the German banks so soon?Who won there?
@angryDuck: Will the Brexiters fold?
@angryDuck: Go on, enumerate the many ways you list in your fantasies.
@Billy McNamara: Would those be the same companies who are keeping real quiet and protecting their position within the single market?
Yeah, what about them?
@B9xiRspG: There is no veto. If the EU negotiating leader presents a “recommended proposal” of the withdrawal agreement to the 27 EU leaders, it needs minimum 20 of them to approve it, on the proviso those same 20 account for at least 65 percent of the EU 27 population. Ireland lost its veto after accepting the talks moved on earlier this year.
@angryDuck:
1- No
2- Yes
He’s got a nerve allright, a pharmaceutical tool masquerading as the leader of a country.
@Patricia McCarthy: We’ve had teachers and doctors in the past, not sure what your point is.
@B9xiRspG: My point is he will do whatever his Pharmaceutical Bosses tell him to do. Any tool that sets himself up in Government with a 5 Million propoganda unit, plus his obscene salary and expenses is not for the good of this country. He isn’t a leader, he is a tool of Big Pharma.
@Patricia McCarthy: sure he is. Your reaching Trump levels of conspiracy theory. Congratulations…
@B9xiRspG: And look where that got us to.No point showing his fancy socks to Teresa May.Out of his dept,just like Kenny.We need better leaders.
Leo is playing with the big people now and he has to use creative language” in order to strike a deal. Will he use crayons for writing …
But Leo said the Brits promised last December, and like the Brits never broke a promise have they?
Ultimately this will be a decision made solely by the British and the EU.
Leo and simon may voice their concerns, but as we’ve seen with the 08 bailout the EU will do whats best for the EU and Ireland will be left to pick up the pieces.
We are an insignificant little plot of land on the edge of Europe and that’s exactly how we’ll be treated.
This bull leo and simon spew about having the backing of the other EU members is just that, BULL.
@Trevor Hayden: And yet they’ve backed us all the way in brexit since the very beginning….that must infuriate you.
@Ricky Spanish: It’s nice to see you have so much faith in the EU but i can see you being bitterly disappointed.
As long as there’s proper independent arbitration on the review.
Otherwise there’s nothing to stop Brussels just refusing everything. It’s what they’ve done so far.
I’d say Dublin, but I think we all know where the real decisions are being made.
@Damocles: Ireland and Britain should just refuse to have a hard border, end of, full stop.
@Damocles: the english are not in a position to demand and put caveats on anything. Of course the EU must approve any changes. Only little englanders would think differently. They made this mess and now blame everyone else because they still don’t know what they want.
@Paul Fahey: I agree that it shouldn’t be beyond the wit of mortal man to come up with a solution that works for everyone but it would require cooperation, political will, determination and courage from both sides.
And I’m not convinced that Brussels will allow that. It seems sometimes that Leo says things that are almost conciliatory but then he goes into meetings with Donald Tusk and comes out spouting a sterner line.
@Paul Fahey: end of. Full stop. Fact. Or how not to negotiate
@Paul Fahey: Still living in that fantasy Paul? John Lennon was right…he’s not the only one.
These bunch of politicians are not the right people to steer us through brexit. They’ve shown us they can’t even run their own country properly without brexit. What can a bunch of amateur chancer politicians with nothing more than local county council experience bring to the table on brexit!
@Adrian: looks like Leo has been forced to concede on the Backstop.
I’d love to know how these talks would have progressed if the DUP didn’t hold such sway in the UK government
@Dáibh Tett: it is just a pity those troglodyte have power over the Conservatives, it would be completely different otherwise.
I wonder if sinn féin actually took their seats in Westminster could they take down the tories?
@angryDuck: The numbers were shown at the time it would not have mattered. On a side note are you prepared to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen?
@Frankie Mangan: I’d have no problem with any Irish person swearing allegiance to the rich person as long as it was done mockingly. I’d go wearing my own crown.
@angryDuck: It’s a pity those troglodytes have been in a position to block anything constructive happening on so many occasions, the saying ‘the devils bird has the devils has the devils lucks’ springs to mind. The Good Friday agreement did escape their negative grasp but they did try.
Varadkar has been using “creative language” his whole political life, he has also shown the incompetents Murphy and Harris how to use it, Spin merchant extraordinaire , getting caught out as he plays with the big boys
Funny Leo is not happy with the FF “review” of the Confidence and Supply agreement.
yet he is open to a “review” on the backstop on Brexit.
Is this a sample of Dr Varadkar’s version of his creative language in negotiations ?
Did wereally except anything less from the West Brits?
Michael Collins! springs to mind.
McDonald seems awful sarcastic. And sneering. Why is she like that? What does she hope to achieve with her sarcastic approach, I wonder….permanent sniping from opposition sidelines?
@W Kevin Doyle: well she inspired you to comment and discuss the issue. So well done to Mary Lou.
@Frankie Mangan: on reading my comment you think she has “inspired me”? Surely a politician wants to win my vote? Your response looks like wishful thinking- or non-thinking. Are you a Mary-Lou fan?
Creative language won’t change the fact that you can’t have a soft border without a customs union in Northern Ireland (which the DUP won’t accept) or the whole UK (which May’s government won’t accept).
You also can’t have a hard border without screwing up the GFA and that took decades to achieve.
The minuscule bit of respect I have for Varadkar (as opposed to the huge disdain I have for him) is because of his refusal of a hard border. Let’s see if he fu(ks even that up.
@Kem Trayle: for a second there I thought you were referring to the Gaelic Football Association!!!!
@Kem Trayle: oh he will but on the bright side we will have no border for the christmas shop..we will have to use the irish ferries duty free next year…at least they are prepared.
@Micheal S. O’ Ceilleachair: Do you mean the Gaelic Athletics Association or the GAA?
A West Brit to the bone.
Could Mary Lou pick the nerve to ask their Sinn Fein British MP’s do something useful for Ireland and take up their seats in Westminister at this crucial time in brexit negotiations, or does such a direct order have to come from the SF army council.
Imagine how much worse it could be if Sinn Fein were in power.
Look at their record in the North, abysmal mafia run constituencies where the rule of law is optional, unemployment guaranteed and they dare to lecture in the Dail.
@John Sheehy: You mean withdrawing from the Assembly because of a financial scandal… taking people to account for the billions of taxpayers money that went into the pockets of the chosen few. Did the blueshirts cry out concerning the gangsterism of the banks and developers facilitated by F.F.
always knew this would be the way it would go….unfortunately we’re just too small
Been told what to do.. That’s it… Leo the liar.
What is it with you all, this is Cameron’s folly, how many times do you need to be told, he tried to cement a power base amongst his euro sceptic colleagues and gambled by going to the electorate who after years of austerity shoved two fingers up, now reality has bitten hard and the intelligentsia are rebelling because they realise they and the great unwashed have been shafted, plus it’s not Brussels who now govern them but big bad Arlene and dinosaurs in Belfast, oh dear !@!
Stay strong Leo, like a lion. Or a lioness even, probably even more bite.
Norway !
@lapsy pa: all they want is to be free of ecj so they can do what they like in the city of London . Thinking they don’t have a plan is laughable
Media sensationalism bullshit, the Irish message has been consistent and strong
Are the trousers up or are they down and who forgot to pull down the blind… But who’s wearing them now Leo, May or is it Arlene?
If he is getting criticised by SF and DUP he is doing something right. Both are anti European parties and hold no sway in Europe.
Does anybody feel that the referendum was rigged?..should the brits try again.
I always knew the government would buckle and go back on their word.
have your say