Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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124. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a new recruitment campaign for Irish sign language specialist classroom support will be launched in quarter 2 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8205/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Supporting the provision of appropriate education for children with additional needs is a key priority for the Department of Education. There is a longstanding existing provision in place to support children in mainstream settings where Irish Sign Language (ISL) is their primary language. The department sanctions an additional special needs assistant to schools, above their existing allocation, where a school is required to employ an individual with ISL proficiency to provide support. These dedicated special needs assistants will support the students in accessing the curriculum and the wider school community.

Building on this support, in March 2022 the details of a new scheme for the provision of Irish Sign Language (ISL) in-school support for students who are Deaf and whose primary means of communication is ISL was announced. The establishment of the new scheme follows the commencement of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 on 23 December 2020. Section 5 of the Act outlines a number of requirements in relation to education including the establishment of this scheme.

Under the scheme, a package of dedicated specialist ISL supports, ISL Specialist Classroom Supports (SCS) and ISL Advisors, are allocated to relevant schools, so these students have a more inclusive school experience.

The scheme is being implemented on a phased basis to allow for examination of the learning from its initial phase and to implement improvements, if required, to subsequent phases. The focus of the first phase was on ensuring that the available skilled resources are identified and applied where they are needed the most.

A working group comprising the NCSE, NEPS, Inspectorate and the Special Education Unit of the Department is currently undertaking the review of the first phase of the scheme in line with Circulars 069/2022 and 070/2022. The review of the Phase 1 is at an advanced stage, and it is anticipated the associated report will be available earlier Q2 2025.

The outcome of this review will facilitate discussions regarding the on-going development of the scheme, including future recruitment and resourcing.