Ms Elaine Grehan:

When we talk about language acquisition at critical times, it is better for a child to be bilingual in both Irish Sign Language and written English but without the opportunity for Irish Sign Language acquisition, we can end up with a language delay and confidence issues. Much of this is related to mental health issues. There can be avoidance and a feeling that people are not good enough or would not be able to go to college. If they went to mainstream education, they would not have had enough Irish Sign Language education. Some hearing teachers have good Irish Sign Language fluency and others do not. Deaf children experience a variety in mainstream school. Later, we see this dropout rate and poor provision of interpreters, especially in private colleges, which will not provide Irish Sign Language interpreters. There is a shortage of interpreters so they are not always available. There is a complex list of reasons for the dropout rates.