Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 February 2017
209. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of providing funding for Irish sign language interpretation for deaf parents of hearing children for parent-teacher meetings; and if he will consider providing funding for this purpose. [5442/17]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that responsibility for facilitating a school’s communication with a parent lies with the School’s Board of Management. Schools' running costs are met by my Department's scheme of capitation grants which affords schools considerable flexibility in the use of these resources to cater for the needs of their pupils. These grants are intended to contribute towards the general operating costs of schools including, where necessary, the use of interpreters when dealing with parents.
Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS) was established in 2007 through the Citizens Information Board as a national Sign Language Interpreting Service. SLIS provides a range of services which includes a referral service to assist clients to find the right interpreter for their needs and the Irish Remote Interpreting Service (IRIS). IRIS is a simple user friendly service which provides a live video-link service to an Irish Sign Language interpreter, using a variety of programmes such as Skype, ooVoo or WebEx. The IRIS interpreter is based in the SLIS offices whilst the clients can be located anywhere in Ireland. I understand that some deaf parents of hearing children use IRIS, which is a free service, for meetings with schools.
Also DeafHear and/or the Cork Deaf Association, charities which are part funded by the HSE, will also offer support and advice around the availability and cost of an interpreter for parent teacher meetings.
As some deaf parents who require Irish Sign Language interpretation for parent teacher meetings may receive such available supports, while others may be assisted by an ISL proficient teacher or other staff member within the school, the estimated cost of providing additional funding for Irish Sign Language interpretation is not known. However, provision for such additional expense is made through school capitation.
My Department provides for an extensive range of supports to assist pupils who are Deaf or hard of hearing. In line with my Department's policy that children with special educational needs access appropriate education intervention in mainstream settings where possible, many Deaf or hard of hearing pupils are integrated into mainstream classes at primary and post-primary level with additional supports such as additional resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support provided. Other children who are Deaf or hard of hearing may attend special schools or classes, which have lower pupil teacher ratios.
Funding is provided by my Department for a weekly home tuition service whereby tutors visit the homes of Deaf and hard of hearing pre-school children and school-going pupils to provide training in Irish Sign Language (ISL) for these children, their siblings and parents.
The Visiting Teacher Service for Children and Young People with a Hearing Impairment is provided from the time of referral through to third level education. The Visiting Teacher service provides advice and support to ensure that the needs of children and young people with hearing impairment are met. This service is available at pre-school, primary and post-primary levels.
Additional supports provided by my Department include funding to schools for assistive technology such as radio aids and Soundfield systems, special transport arrangements for pupils and enhanced levels of capitation in Special schools and Special Classes.
Funding is also made available through the Special Education Support Service (SESS) to enable individual teachers and whole school staff to undertake courses in ISL which are available throughout the country through a variety of providers. The SESS expanded its team with specialist expertise in deaf education in January 2013.
My Department, through the Higher Education Authority (HEA), has also established and funds a Centre for Deaf Studies in Trinity College which provides courses for ISL/English interpreters, deaf tutors and in deaf studies.
