Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service ...

4.10.3 A quality service on the groundThe hallmarks of a quality service for users would be a service that is co-ordinated,accessible, demand-led and which provides value for money.Regional development is seen as essential, and it was noted that this is happeningto some extent through SLI providers that have emerged in addition to Irish SignLink. Information and awareness campaigns, research and development, andpromotion of interpreting among public sector organisations, the hearingpopulation and the Deaf community were identified as tasks that could be doneby a central agency; information and advice should be available. Some felt that acentrally located premises, with adequate space for customers to drop in andmake personal bookings would be helpful.Value for money and reasonable costs are an important quality issue for publicservice providers who are buying the sign language interpretation service. Theypoint to the need for more flexible charging arrangements, and express someconcern about current fee structures, although interpreters highlighted the factthat fees had remained unchanged for several years and have been structured toreflect the freelance nature of their employment.There were many proposals about ways of improving billing systems and makingthese more customer friendly and efficient.page 78 • Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland