Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Sr. Breege, Mr. Neenan and Mr. Killoran for their engagement with the committee today. It is always good to get such good information. I find my role as a public representative is to make it easy for people to access the services they need, if I can help with that. That was the case when I was a councillor and it is the case now, as a Deputy.

This is not the first time this committee has heard about the issue around migrants being unable to access interpreters. We have heard about it in other meetings in the past. People have contacted my office and it can be difficult to understand what is being asked of me over the phone. I should say that the level of English of those who are talking to me is a lot better than my attempts at any of their native languages. They are doing their best. I always find that if I can sit down and meet that person face to face, it is a lot easier to understand but there was a barrier to doing that during the Covid-19 restrictions, which made it more difficult. I have questions about interpreters. What barriers are stopping migrants from accessing a comprehensive service? Has there been any progress in developing professional qualifications for interpreters, such as those in Britain? I will ask a second question if I have the chance.