Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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396. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the voucher scheme under the Irish Sign Language Act 2017, particularly section 9, for users of Irish sign language to access free ISL and English interpreting for social, educational and cultural events and services, including medical and other activities, will be permanently established. [6711/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS) is supported and funded through the Citizens Information Board (CIB), the statutory body under the aegis of my Department.

Section 9 of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 sets out support for access to events, services and activities for users of Irish Sign Language. SLIS, with the support of CIB, have been progressing the implementation of this provision, and in 2021, a pilot scheme was launched for a four-month period, providing users of Irish Sign Language with access to free interpretation for eligible activities.

An evaluation of the pilot was completed in July 2022, the recommendations of which will form part of any future scheme, to ensure it meets the needs of the Deaf community in Ireland and meets the obligations under the Irish Sign Language Act 2017. CIB is currently exploring with SLIS the options as to how such a scheme can be implemented, based on the findings of the evaluation report.