Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

509. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason there has been no response to date to the five priorities (details supplied) from the Irish Deaf Society made to her in November 2013 and a commitment from her to consider the priorities with a response by spring 2014. [11990/15]

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to "examine different mechanisms to promote the recognition of Irish sign language" and this process is ongoing. It is not the case that there has been no follow up and in fact the National Disability Authority (NDA) facilitated consultations with the Deaf Community in Ireland at my Department's request in relation to actions that could make improvements in the lives of deaf people. Submissions received as part of that process informed the National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan which was published in July 2013.

As part of the follow-up to that initiative, the first special themed meeting of the National Disability Strategy Implementation Group (NDSIG) focussed on the issue of Irish Sign Language on 28 November 2013 to which the Deputy refers. This meeting brought together representatives of relevant Departments, the NDA, the Deaf Community and other relevant stakeholders with a view to further progressing the inclusion of actions for the Strategy in this regard.

The meeting reviewed the current situation across Government Departments and their Agencies with regard to promoting recognition of Irish Sign Language, including in service provision, and provided the Deaf Community with the opportunity of presenting their experience of interaction with the Public Sector. It also provided a useful opportunity to examine mechanisms which could promote the further use and recognition of Irish Sign Language and understand practical implications for service users. Further to this meeting, the Deaf Community prepared a report to reflect their views on key actions and priorities. This report was submitted to my predecessor for consideration in May 2014 and was then circulated to Departments in November 2014 for their observations. The intention now is that the recommendations from this report will be reflected as appropriate in the next Implementation Plan to take effect as from 1 January 2016, through the incorporation of new actions and related performance indicators and timelines. Progress on all relevant actions will then be monitored as part of the Implementation Plan monitoring process. The focus therefore remains on the identification of mechanisms for the further promotion and recognition of Irish Sign Language with a view to promoting and supporting its use, thereby improving service delivery on the ground.