Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service ...

• Access to any facility or benefit provided• Any other terms or condition of participation in the establishmentThe Equal Status Act 2000 section 4 (1) states that:“Discrimination on the grounds of disability includes a refusal or failure by theprovider of the service to do all that is reasonable to accommodate the needs of aperson with a disability by providing special treatment or facilities, if without suchspecial treatment or facilities it would be impossible or unduly difficult for theperson to avail himself or herself of the service”.The Disability Act 2005 sets out requirements relating to access to buildings,services and information. Government departments and public bodies arerequired to make their mainstream public services accessible to people withdisabilities. This includes making information available in accessible formats andproviding supports to access services where practicable. This legislation wasenacted on 8th July 2005.The Disability Act 2005 states:Access to services:• “Where a service is provided by a public body, the head of the body shall -where practicable and appropriate, ensure that the provision of access to theservice by persons with and persons without disabilities is integrated”• “Where a service is provided to a public body, the head of the body shallensure that the service is accessible to persons with disabilities”Access to information:• “Where a public body communicates with one or more persons, the head ofthe body shall ensure - if the communication is an oral one and the person orpersons aforesaid has a hearing impairment and so requests, that, as far aspracticable, the contents of the communication are communicated in a formthat is accessible to the person concerned”.The Employment Equality Act 1998 outlaws discrimination in employment on ninedistinct grounds:• Disability, gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religiousbelief, age, race, membership of the Traveller community.The Employment Equality Act 1998 imposes an additional duty of 'reasonableaccommodation' on employers in relation to people with disabilities. An employermust do all that is reasonable to accommodate the needs of a person with adisability, unless the employer can show that there is a cost to him/her other thana nominal cost.An employer is not obliged to recruit, train or retain in employment a person whois not fully competent or capable to undertake the duties attached to the post.However, a person with a disability will be regarded as fully competent andcapable of performing the duties attached to a post if, with the provision of specialtreatment or facilities, the employee would be fully competent and capable.Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland • page 39