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Two-thirds of Deaf community face difficulty finding out about their rights

A new report has been published detailing the experiences of Deaf people in accessing public and social services.

TWO-THIRDS OF the Deaf community face difficulty accessing public information on their rights, a new report has found.

The Citizens Information Board (CIB) research report, published today, details the experiences of the Deaf community in accessing public and social services and related information on rights and entitlements in Ireland.

Members of the Deaf community who were interviewed for the report said that only a small fraction of government information provision uses Irish Sign Language (ISL).

They said that the standard means of communication that government organisations use, such as websites, printed documents (leaflets), or telephone are either difficult for the Deaf community to use due to the fact that the data is provided in English which is not their first language or, in the case of telephone-based information provision, virtually impossible.

The Deaf community is defined as people who are Deaf and whose first language is ISL. The Deaf community in Ireland has over 5,000 Irish sign language users and a wider community of over 40,000 users.

Lack of consultation

The members of the Deaf community and their representative bodies interviews as part of the study said they appreciated the efforts of public organisations to use ISL as part of their information provision, for example, through the use of signed videos on their website.

However, they would prefer if these organisations would consult with Deaf representative bodies on the format and content of such ISL-based information provision.

Where the input of the Deaf community is absent, the report noted that there is a perception among Deaf people that the public websites that incorporate ISL are merely a token gesture rather than a genuine understanding of their needs.

“The majority of public sector organisations profiled in this report do have policy and service provision commitments that specify that they will provide ISL interpreters for meetings involving Deaf people,” Angela Black, chief executive of CIB said.

“The Deaf community, however, say there is a gulf between public policy provisions and what they experience at frontline service level. Two-thirds of those surveyed gave a poor rating of their experience of accessing public and social services.”

Public places

The report also highlighted that accessing information in public places can be problematic for members of the Deaf community.

One example, according to the study, is visiting public offices where there is no signed information that can point them in the right direction.

The community noted that the lack of signed information in bus and train stations and airports can result in Deaf people not receiving vital information about their transport connections or being uninformed about safety notices.

Public services

One of the main issues raised by Deaf people and their support organisations was the lack of trained ISL interpreters to enable Deaf people to communicate with public officials.

The experience of the interviewees from the Deaf community was that, in the vast majority of cases, when they visited a public organisation to either obtain information or to access a service, there was no ISL interpreter available to sign the conversation or meeting.

In this scenario, the options open to the Deaf community are to have a hearing companion with them, or write notes, or resort to lip reading.

“Despite equality and disability legislation, public services have not always lived up to commitments to provide sign language interpreting,” Ann Coogan, chair of Sign Language Interpreting Service said.

Read: Legislation to officially recognise Irish Sign Language set to pass through Dáil today

More: Column: ‘I am determined to make music available to the deaf’

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26 Comments
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    Mute J Ven
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    Nov 11th 2023, 1:55 PM

    Have the cojones and let go the paper pushers, unnecessary managers and automate. In return offer more money and working conditions to doctors and nurses so they won’t strike. If unions revolts, let them strike, if compensations have to be paid, then pay it. This has to be planned and done simultaneously in a surgical way, having a contingency plan. This is the only way to purge the HSE

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    Mute 9QRixo8H
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    Nov 11th 2023, 2:12 PM

    @J Ven: to automate will kill jobs, the thing you’re against. Even doctors can be automated, making it more efficient when doing surgeries and where updates can be done instantly rather than have doctors who need to read updates when they have time. Then you’re against unions that help doctors get more pay, but you want doctors to get more pay. Make up your mind Jenny.

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    Mute J Ven
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    Nov 11th 2023, 7:41 PM

    @9QRixo8H: Automate to get rid of unnecessary paper pushers, pay doctors more, even with automation, they need more staff, and if by some weird situation a doctor has to let go because of Automation which I doubt because SAP can’t prescribe nor operate, then so be it. I’m against useless unions, you don’t need a union to pay people more nowadays, I’m pro doctor, pro efficiency, unions: depend. I hope I was clear Denise.

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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Nov 12th 2023, 7:51 PM

    @J Ven: see how long the show stays on the road if you get rid of the ‘paper pushers’ .Or do you think a consultant will be bothered their hole typing their own letters, sourcing patient charts, filing their own prescriptions, making their own appointments, filling out insurance forms, arranging tribunals, multidiscipinary meetings, foi requests etc etc etc. Will you pay the concomitant tax increase that would come with this vague concept of automation, and the tens of thousands people you put on the welfare as a result, or will ya just give out about it in yet another amazing display of ditch hurling?

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    Mute Anthony Corbett
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    Nov 11th 2023, 2:37 PM

    Its time the unions declared a state of emergency in the HSE. They are too long skirting the issues.

    Significant Scandals
    Bed closures
    Poor recruitment when most needed
    Zero retention initiatives or perks
    Huge waiting lists
    Data breaches
    Staff cannot get paid correctly

    To name a few

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    Mute Richard Starling
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    Nov 11th 2023, 3:45 PM

    I don’t see any freeze on the executive or pen pusher sectors (unless I missed something) just on direct healthcare professionals where they are desperately needed.

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    Mute Pato
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    Nov 11th 2023, 2:15 PM

    .I agree with J.Ven. I have been in hospital for 5 months now and the waste is staggering. I see the front line staff who, if they are not lazy, are run off their feet
    I never see the paper pushers put their hands are on everything

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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Nov 12th 2023, 8:07 PM

    @Pato: sorry for your current situation, hope you are doing ok under the circumstances, but to be fair, you admit you never see the ‘paper pushers’ If so, How are you aware of the work they do/don’t do? You concede some front line staff are lazy and some are run off their feet, is it impossible to consider that this dichotomy might exist with the admin staff aswell, or do you dismiss every single one of them as a waste without being aware of the work they do? Bit unfair, no?

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    Mute
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    Nov 11th 2023, 3:41 PM

    Great to see such open lovely debate and comments on all the articles…

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    Mute Peter Byrne
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    Nov 11th 2023, 5:38 PM

    Great to see everyone knows what they are talking about. Plenty staff in HSE , up almost another 6 000 this year, to around 130,000. I was in for a biopsy yesterday, staff were great nobody under any pressure as it should be. No doubt HSE needs some reorganisation, fewer and bigger hospitals would be a start. Better use of IT and computers , more staff in Community Areas, more step down facilities. A bigger budget the HSE does not need as it is currently round 26 Billion about 25% of government spending

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    Mute Joe Kelly
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    Nov 12th 2023, 4:27 PM

    @Peter Byrne: bigger hospitals have caused the problems we have now. The smaller local hospitals, Patrick dunes, the adelaide, should never have been closed.

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    Mute Joanne Holland
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    Nov 11th 2023, 9:48 PM

    Sadly, it seems time for another nurses strike, and I will support every foot on the picket line. In 2019 my mother was in ICU during the nurses strike, Simon Harris was minister for health. I then implored Mr. Harris to review the management and structures of the HSE, having watched them fail my mother in her final days. Many responded, the solution, Slainte Care!! Wait for the reforms, they told me……I’m still waiting. Then and now nurses will continue to give care to those most in need, with one hand tied behind their backs!

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    Mute hans vos
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    Nov 11th 2023, 10:40 PM

    Makes great sense. Patient’s in corridors without privacy. Hours waiting in the emergency department. Overcrowding and not enough hands-on staff to man / women the ward’s .This government is very good in making the wrong choises.

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    Mute D M
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    Nov 12th 2023, 12:35 AM

    They will continue to recruit and recruit more and more cheaper nursing agency staff instead… no sick pay , maternity pay , holiday pay , pension contributions.. so that the top dog non health care worker managers keep getting loaded and richer !

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    Mute David
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    Nov 11th 2023, 2:32 PM

    sinn fein have NOT ruled out going in to government with the same party that condones murder in Gaza.
    Shame on sinn fein!!!
    Traitors!!!

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    Mute Paul Fahey
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    Nov 11th 2023, 4:48 PM

    @David: where anyone said they condone murder, save SF throughout the 70,80, 90s? Odd, but what about the murder on Oct 7, you haven’t mentioned them, odd that.

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    Mute Joe Kelly
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    Nov 12th 2023, 4:29 PM

    @David: what has this to do with irish hospitals.

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    Mute Vincent Wallace
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    Nov 12th 2023, 10:14 AM

    Australia and UK thanks us for training them

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    Mute
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    Nov 11th 2023, 7:47 PM

    The media and government in britain are a joke. Peace march, how dare they call for a ceasefire. They were nowhere near a cenotaph. Far right EDL and Tommy Robinson are now legit patriots apparently. Fighting the police like football hooligans is so patriotic like

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    Mute Joe Kelly
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    Nov 12th 2023, 4:33 PM

    Who cares what goes on in Britain? After all they were never short of thugs.

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    Mute
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    Nov 12th 2023, 8:09 AM

    I love lamp

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