Dr. John Bosco Conama:

The Irish Deaf Society, IDS, welcomes the opportunity to discuss these important topics today. The IDS is the only national deaf-led representative organisation of the deaf, and is recognised as a disabled people's organisation, DPO, under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. The IDS is a member of the World Federation of the Deaf, WFD, and the European Union of the Deaf, EUD. We lead the Irish Sign Language, ISL, Act cross community group, which is a group of national organisations and service providers working in the deaf community.

The WFD was involved in the development of the world report with the World Health Organisation, WHO, and other stakeholders. The report contains the following key messages. The majority of deaf and hard of hearing people do not have access to interventions. Timely and appropriate care can be provided through effective interventions, including sign language. Medical and other services for deaf and hard of hearing are expensive and cost governments worldwide $980 billion annually.

This report makes clear that including sign languages as part of planned interventions is considered cost-effective. Sign languages promote effective language development and as such have life-long benefits for all deaf people. The WFD identified four key points in relation to the WHO report and I will comment on how they relate to the Irish context. These four points are early intervention, community involvement, language and communication and a holistic approach.

I will first address early intervention. Access to sign language at birth is a fundamental human right. The WHO report lists sign language development as a high quality early hearing intervention. It states:

Language acquisition in children ensures optimal cognitive and socioemotional development and can be undertaken through non-auditory means ... Access to communication through sign language learning provides a much needed stimulus for facilitating the timely development of deaf infants ... [and] learning sign language ensures that infants do not face any delay in language acquisition. ... Moreover, learning sign language does not hinder or delay the subsequent or simultaneous acquisition of spoken language skills.

The WFD position paper on the language rights of deaf children strongly recommends that all deaf children and their families receive sign language early intervention services as soon as possible after birth otherwise they are at risk of language deprivation.

Article 25 of the UNCRPD calls on governments to provide high-quality sign language early intervention and states is essential that medical professionals collaborate with deaf professionals, community members, sign language teachers and deaf advocacy organisations. In the IDS deaf education policy paper, we call on the Government to begin meaningful engagement on this important issue. Early intervention is our first goal under the education pillar of our recently launched strategic plan. The Department of Education has not responded to calls for engagement in respect of deaf education.

In the context of community involvement, deaf communities empower deaf children and youth. The WHO report describes the transformative effect of deaf community involvement in case studies and recommendations. Deaf people’s need for sign language learning and cultural and identity development are supported by participation in deaf communities. Deaf communities enable social relationships that are supportive of a positive deaf identity. Projects addressing the needs of deaf communities should be conducted in interaction and collaboration with the Irish Deaf Society as per Article 4.3 of the UNCRPD. Public and community engagement is a pillar of our strategic plan and our activities and staff resources in respect of this work are not funded by the Government despite regular requests for core funding.

Turning to language and communication, sign languages should be recognised and integrated into all services throughout life. The WHO report refers to the value of sign language and the availability of interpreters in education and public services. The UNCRPD contains provisions that recognise that the deaf community has cultural and linguistic rights and is not to be acknowledged only as a part of a disability construct. Access to information in the ISL is vital for Irish deaf people. They have the right to access services, information and interactions through professionally qualified sign language interpreters and translators. The provision of these services must be made in close consultation with the Irish Deaf Society as a disabled people's organisation, DPO. The NDA report on the implementation of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 states:

Overall, the ISL Act is not yet operating as intended, with significant gaps in knowledge and understanding of the responsibilities of public bodies under the Act. Implementation was noted to be poor across most sections of the Act, with many public bodies appearing unprepared for the activities needed to achieve compliance.

The IDS, leading the Irish Sign Language Act cross-community group, responded to the NDA report by stating, "The group calls on the government to take urgent action to address these issues and ensure that Deaf people have equal access to public services and the quality interpretation services they need to fully participate in society.” This can be done only through the provision of core funding and meaningful engagement with the Irish Deaf Society.

As for an holistic approach to families and sign languages, all deaf children and their families must have access to sign language. Deaf children’s sign language acquisition should begin as soon as possible after birth and this means families must be included in early intervention and specialised parent sign language classes. Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states parents of disabled children must be provided free of charge with assistance and services to ensure the children will reach their fullest individual, social and cultural development. The current supports delivered by the Government are not sufficient and are not managed effectively. The Irish Deaf Society has submitted proposals to the Department of Education as to how the home tuition scheme, which is currently dysfunctional, could be run effectively. The Department has not responded to our proposals. Engagement with parents and improvements to family ISL education are included in several goals of the IDS strategic pillars for education and community.

The WHO report makes clear that support for sign language and deaf communities is not only essential but also cost-effective. The WHO calls for national governments to involve “organizations for people who are deaf and hard of hearing in the planning and implementation process, to foster a holistic, collaborative approach.” The UNCRPD calls on the Government to engage with the Irish Deaf Society as a DPO in a meaningful way. The Irish Sign Language Act is being poorly implemented and the IDS is regularly ignored, dismissed or treated in a tokenistic way. We call on the Government to provide core funding support in order that we can help the State deliver on the recommendations in the WHO world report on hearing, the UNCRPD and the Irish Sign Language Act 2017.