Dr. John Bosco Conama:

That is a good question. In an ideal world, it would be the choice of the Oireachtas to pick the interpreter. Through experience, however, I have volunteered to take on the role of assigning an interpreter for a number of reasons. There are often not enough interpreters available and some are not competent to work at this level. As I know Mr. Byrne is one of the top interpreters, I wanted him to perform this role to ensure this opportunity was not wasted and that we did not have to worry about whether we were being understood.

Ireland does not have a national register of interpreters, nor do we have an accreditation or vetting process. Trinity College Dublin provides interpreter training but there is no monitoring after graduation. This can also be a missed opportunity. The way we see it is that the qualification is a starting point but there is no continuing professional development programmes available for interpreters. This means the matter is left to the interpreters, who mainly work freelance, and they often leave the profession over time.

In an ideal world, the chairperson should have been able to give somebody the role of booking an interpreter. However, without a national register and an accreditation process, I would have a concern in that regard. The Irish Sign Language legislation calls for an accreditation mechanism for interpreters for this reason. I hope that answers Senator Ó Donnghaile's question.