Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service ...

4.8.1 The impact of the absence of accreditationIn the absence of accreditation, and given the difficult supply situation particularlyoutside Dublin, registered trainees (those who have completed the Trinity coursebut who have not been through an accreditation process) are under pressure towork in situations where their skills are not appropriate; this is seen as both a healthand safety issue and an ethical issue. For Deaf people, it means that they are lesscertain that their needs will be met in any given interpreting situation. At anotherlevel, the absence of accreditation has meant that skilled and experienced registeredtrainee interpreters cannot move on to the fee rates that apply to registered qualifiedinterpreters, thus creating financial disincentives to stay in this field.4.8.2 What is neededThere is strong consensus that an accreditation process, linked to registration andregulation, is urgent, and that the process must keep up with the output from theCentre for Deaf Studies training programme.There is an equally strong consensus that accreditation for individual interpretersshould not be a 'once in a lifetime' event. Interpreters need to be re-accreditedfrom time to time, particularly if they have left the field for periods of time, assome do; a system of regular monitoring and supervision is also an essential partof a regulatory process.There was also a view that Irish Sign Language teachers should be accredited aswell as interpreters.The accreditation for specialist skills such as legal interpreting has not begun to bediscussed, in the absence of the base level of accreditation.4.8.3 How should the accreditation system be developed and managedThe actual process of accreditation must be credible, objective, transparent andconfidential. The process may not be a 'one event' process; those applying foraccreditation should have clear advance information about the process that will beused, the standards that will be applied, and the expectations/views of theassessors about appropriate forms of interpreting. Practical competency testing ofinterpreters was seen as essential; accreditation of a training programme is notsufficient. However, the level of achievement in the final examination could beassigned a specific value, as one part of the accreditation process.Concerns were raised about the appropriateness of having interpreters assessedby colleagues in the field, and the difficulty of securing independence andobjectivity in a situation where there is such a small pool of interpreters whowould all be known to each other.There was a diverse range of views as to the form that the accreditation processshould take, and how it should be operated and managed. Some contributors sawmerit in adopting the UK accreditation system, while others felt quite strongly thatan Irish system is needed, with Irish standards. A third view was that a partnershipbetween the UK accreditation process and the appropriate Irish authority in thismatter would be effective, allowing Ireland to take advantage of systems andprocesses that have been developed in the UK, but also applying these in the Irishpage 74 • Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland