Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 April 2026
1390. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of the difficulties being experienced by deaf students in accessing education through ISL the measures she is taking to improve access to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25304/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy department provides a range of supports for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, within mainstream classes, 25 special classes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and through the two dedicated schools for Deaf children; one in Dublin and one in Limerick.
The Irish Sign Language (ISL) tuition scheme relates to the provision of ISL tuition for families with children who are Deaf and whose children communicate using ISL. This scheme provides funding to families to secure the services of an ISL tutor in the home. Under the scheme, funding is provided by the Department for a weekly home tuition service whereby tutors visit the homes of Deaf and Hard of Hearing pre-school children and school-going students to provide training in Irish Sign Language for these children and their families including their grandparents.
The scheme is available to Deaf / Hard of Hearing children from diagnosis to leaving post-primary school, so there is a broad range of ages and abilities.
More than 200 children and their families are being supported under the scheme with the assistance of approximately 80 tutors. In addition, the Department also funds specialised equipment for the hearing-impaired students under the Assistive Technology scheme.
Furthermore, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) currently employs 34 FTE Visiting Teachers (VT) who support children and young people who are deaf or hard of hearing. VTs are qualified teachers with particular skills and knowledge of the development and education of children with varying degrees of hearing loss. They offer longitudinal support to students, their families and schools from the time of initial referral through to the end of the post-primary education. Following the introduction of the new-born screening programme, visiting teachers also provide valuable early intervention support in the home to babies and their families.
There is longstanding existing provision in place, which provides a dedicated SNA with ISL competency to support students in mainstream settings access to the curriculum and engage in school activities. To support children where ISL is their primary language, the Department sanctions an additional SNA (above their existing allocation), where a school is required to employ an individual with ISL proficiency to support the child to access the curriculum and support them in accessing the wider in school community.
The Department introduced two new roles in deaf education in 2022 – the ISL Special Classroom Support (ISL- SCS) and the ISL Adviser. The ISL-SCS works in a mainstream classroom and interprets for a child whose primary language is ISL. Over time, the ISL-SCS post is intended to replace the SNA with ISL competency role. ISL Advisers work in the NCSE and are tasked with providing training and upskilling in schools that have ISL users enrolled.
