Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

The advisory committee on the education of the deaf and hard of hearing was established in December 2001 by the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, with the following terms of reference: to review the adequacy of the current range of educational support services available to students who are deaf or hard of hearing, to identify and prioritise areas of service provision which require development or adjustment and to bring forward proposals considered appropriate to ensure the development and delivery of an appropriate, effective and efficient education support service for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The committee met 38 times in plenary session and a number of sub-committee meetings also took place. Submissions were invited from the public and three regional listening meetings were held in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Early in the committee's deliberations, it became apparent that there were entrenched, divergent views on approaches to the teaching of the deaf and hard of hearing and there was little willingness to reach consensus. In a number of cases, decisions arrived at sub-committee stage were challenged at plenary level by members who were involved in the decisions of the sub-committee.

While various chapters of the committee's report were drafted, including those on early intervention, primary education, post-primary education, visiting teacher service and communication issues, no consensus was reached on any of these due to the divergent views of members of the committee. Given that two deadlines had not been met, the Minister for Education and Science's predecessor, Deputy Noel Dempsey, met the committee in June 2004 to progress matters. At the meeting, he stressed that its report should be completed by October 2004.

The Deputy stated that the committee was taken by surprise by the decision to disband but it was well signalled to its members in June that time was running out and they should conclude by October. It was not possible for the committee to meet the deadline or to progress the completion of its report by October 2004. In the circumstances and following consultation with officials and the chairperson of the committee, the new Minister, Deputy Hanafin, formed the view that there was no prospect of the advisory committee reaching an agreed position in the foreseeable future. Given this position she recently wrote to the chairperson of the committee and informed her of the Minister's decision to disband it.

However, in disbanding the committee, the Minister requested that all the material produced by it to date be sent to her Department, and that has been done. She intends to discuss the important issue of deaf education with the National Council for Special Education with a view to carrying out research initially and devising policy on issues relating to deaf and hard of hearing pupils. The Minister is disappointed that it was not possible for the committee to complete its work but the reality was that more than three years after its establishment, there was no prospect of it doing so. Rather than continue down the cul de sac that the committee's work had become, she has decided that a different approach is required, including involving the National Council for Special Education, which has a remit to advise the Department of Education and Science on policy matters.

I acknowledge the Deputy's comments on the battles that took place and the attempts of service providers to take over the issue, which I will relay to the Minister. However, the decision to disband the committee was not taken lightly. Progress was painfully slow and none of the chapters was signed off on because people had set views. I identify with the Deputy's comments about service providers. Professionals came in and had their own battles, thereby, taking away from the issue about which the deaf people were concerned. I do not hold out much hope.

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