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INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICEThe research on international best practice focused on five countries - Scotland, England,Denmark, Finland and New Zealand.The review focused on countries where there are similarities to Ireland, but it alsoacknowledged that there are fundamental differences between them which would makeany one of them unsuitable on its own to be used as a template for sign languageinterpreting provision in Ireland. Of the five countries selected for inclusion in this review,there is no one country on which a model for Ireland can be based.The international research concentrated on identifying examples of good practice indifferent areas such as organisation and delivery of services, quality measurement, fundingand technologies.The following table outlines some key data on SLI services in the five countries researched.CountryIrelandScotlandEnglandand WalesDenmarkFinlandNewZealandPopulation3,917,3365,000,00055,000,0005,432,3355,112,0004,035,461Estimated Numbersnumber of of SignDeaf sign Languagelanguage Interpretersusers 25,500 44 3 (13*)4,000 45*50,000 356*5,000 125*5,000 630*(of whichapprox. 400are workingactively asinterpreters)4,750 4 47*OfficiallyrecognisednativelanguagesIrish, EnglishGaelic,English,British SignLanguageEnglish,British SignLanguage,WelshDanish,Faeroese,GreenlandicFinnish,Swedish,Sami, SignLanguage(FinSL)English,MaoriReason for inclusion inthis reviewNot applicable.Is at a similar stage ofdevelopment to Ireland, andfaces many of the samechallenges.Provides an example of a moredeveloped system and is apotential source of support andadvice.Provides an example of acentralised system for organisingSLI services.Well-regarded service with 7times as many interpreters forsame number of Deaf signlanguage users as Ireland.Regarded internationally as amodel of good practice. Largenumber of sign languageinterpreters per head of Deafpopulation - 35 times Ireland forsimilar Deaf population.Currently carrying out a similarreview of interpreting services,and facing many of the samechallenges as Ireland.*These figures refer to the number of registered interpreters2 The figures outlined in this column assume that the vast majority of the Deaf population are sign language users.3 Source: Irish Sign Link, August 2005. This figure includes the 28 interpreters who are awaiting registration.4 This figure is the median from an estimate of 2,500-7,000 (analysis conducted by the 1996 Statistics of NZ Household Disability Survey).page 14 • Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland
Using CSO 2011 population projections for Ireland, together with someinternational benchmarks, the following ratios have been calculated in order tofacilitate a comparative analysis of registered interpreter supply:1. Current Irish ratio of interpreters to Deaf people is 1:125 5 (if interpreters whoare 'awaiting registration' are not included, this ratio is to 1:423**)2. Current England and Wales ratio of registered interpreters to Deaf people is1:140**3. Current Scottish ratio of registered interpreters to Deaf people is 1:89**4. Current New Zealand ratio of registered interpreters to Deaf people is 1:48**5. Current Danish ratio of registered interpreters to Deaf people is 1:40**6. Current Finnish ratio of registered interpreters to Deaf people is 1:8****These figures are based on the total number of registered interpretersCSO predicts the population of the Republic of Ireland in 2011 to be circa 4.5million. Assuming the Deaf population as a proportion of this figure remains at itscurrent level of 0.14%, there will be approximately 6,300 Deaf people in theRepublic of Ireland in 2011.Technology developments internationallyWith the advent of relatively cheap, online access, mainstream equipment such asmobile phones, the internet and personal computers, Deaf and hearing people areable to communicate at a distance in sign language and communicate with peoplewho do not use sign language.There are new developments in remote sign language interpreting being pilotedinternationally, particularly through the use of:• Video-relay/Videophones 6• WebcamsA number of pilot projects have been established to assess the effectiveness ofremote interpreting services using these technologies. Two such pilots include avideo relay system in England where the RNID plans to develop their Typetalkrelay system. The RNID plans to use an interpreter in place of the operator and avideophone instead of a textphone. Another example of a video relay interpretingsystem in England is the service provided by Significant UK Ltd., a privatecompany. Significant has been contracted to provide remote interpreting servicesto local authorities in England. It is the intention that videophones will be installedin each of the local authorities in time, to facilitate Deaf people accessing publicservices. The United States is at an advanced stage in the development and rolloutof a video relay service, with the US government providing financial support forthe service.The webcam is another form of technology which is facilitating the developmentof remote interpreting. The use of webcams as a vehicle for remote interpreting5 This figure includes the 28 interpreters who are awaiting registration.6 The distinction between videophones and video relay is that a videophone is a piece of actual hardware (similar to a traditional telephone with ascreen), and video relay is a process whereby there is a relay in the communication process via a third party (i.e. a sign language interpreter).Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland • page 15
Page 1: RESEARCH SERIESSEPTEMBER 2006Review
Page 4: 4.8 Theme 6: Accreditation and a fo
Page 7: PrefaceAs proposed in the Outline S
Page 10 and 11: Key players involved in SLI service
Page 12 and 13: Interpreter staffing and skillsIt i
Page 16 and 17: appears to be growing in popularity
Page 18 and 19: • Personalised service - A person
Page 20 and 21: • The establishment of a new enti
Page 22 and 23: • Further development of the Iris
Page 24 and 25: • Estimated cost in year 1 is €
Page 26 and 27: 1.3 REVIEW OBJECTIVES and SCOPE1.3.
Page 28 and 29: 2 Review Methodology2.1 APPROACHFig
Page 30 and 31: Interviews and discussions• Inter
Page 32 and 33: 3 Overview of CurrentSign LanguageI
Page 34 and 35: Table 3.1. Persons aged 15 to 64, w
Page 36 and 37: 3.2 POLICY AND LEGISLATION3.2.1 Int
Page 38 and 39: Sustaining Progress, Social Partner
Page 40 and 41: According to the Education Act 1998
Page 42 and 43: 3.4 KEY PLAYERS INVOLVED IN SLI SER
Page 44 and 45: upholding the status of Irish Sign
Page 46 and 47: 3. A Deaf user or service provider
Page 48 and 49: 3.5.3 Main reasons for accessing se
Page 50 and 51: InternetThe internet and email have
Page 52 and 53: As shown in the table above, there
Page 54 and 55: Figure 3.10. Total number of interp
Page 56 and 57: The first cohort of students on the
Page 58 and 59: Looking at the summary financial an
Page 60 and 61: 3.7.2 Overall client spend on sign
Page 62 and 63: The public sector service providers
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4.3 THEME 1:THE NEED FOR SIGN LANGU
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subject for both Deaf and hearing s
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4.5 THEME 3:ACCESS TO SLI SERVICES
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4.6 THEME 4:THE QUALITY OF SLI AND
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primary client of the interpreter.
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4.8.1 The impact of the absence of
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4.9.3 What is neededFunding is need
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4.10.3 A quality service on the gro
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Table 5.1. Key statistics on SLI se
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The research has considered mainstr
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Summary• Other than where the par
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5.2.1 Linguistic approachIn all of
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Interpreting services are also prov
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5.3.1 Population distributionMost o
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5.3.3 Responsibility for booking in
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5.3.4 Sign language interpretersSal
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The use of videophones and webcams
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• It provides a flexible solution
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5.5 QUALITY OF SLI SERVICES DEFINED
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5.5.2 Interpreter training courses
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Pressure for the registration and r
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Proposal (which has been agreed wit
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• In most of the countries includ
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Table 5.6. Overview of key strength
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6 Summary ofKey Findings6.1 INTRODU
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6.3 KEY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TH
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7 Recommended FutureModel for Deliv
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7.2 RECOMMENDED FUTURE SLI SERVICE
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Table 7.2. Key areas for improvemen
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7.3.2 Comhairle - oversight of SLI
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There are substantial risks associa
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Requirements:• Excellent project
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7.3.9 ComplaintsThe Irish Sign Lang
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number of Deaf clubs. The videophon
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7.6 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS TO SUPPOR
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Accreditation should be linked to t
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videophone technology, piloted in t
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It is assumed that the rollout of t
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Appendix 1: Bibliographyand Referen
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www.bris.ac.uk/deaf - Bristol Centr
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SASLISLAISLISLIANZSMSTCDVCOThe Scot
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