Mr. John Sherwin:

As I said, in Finland 500 interpreters service the same population. We were recently awarded IHREC funding to study barriers to studying to be an ISL interpreter, graduating successfully, entering the workforce and staying in the workforce. Many interpreters currently work part time. There are some short-term fixes but we need a medium- and long-term strategy as well. All the members of the DPO Network would accept that instant solutions to problems do not happen. Our frustrations relate to developing agreed plans about how to solve them. We can be co-creators of those plans. We have skin in the game and when it goes wrong, it would go wrong for us together. We hope that as the State ramps up engagement, particularly with the deaf community - in answer to the Deputy's question about ISL interpreters - when they cannot be booked, representatives of public bodies will join us in our call to try to improve the situation, rather than see it as a reason that engagement cannot take place.