Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service ...

the UK's Disability Discrimination Acts of 1995 and 2005 (DDA), which outlawdiscrimination on the grounds of disability in access to goods and services,employment, buying or renting land and property. The associated SpecialEducational Needs and Disability Act, 2001 (SENDA) deals with discriminationin education.Those with responsibilities under this legislation are required to make 'reasonableadjustments' so that disabled people (as defined by the DDA), are able to accesstheir services. Similar obligations apply to employers/potential employers inrecruitment and employment of staff.For Deaf people one of the key effects of these provisions is to provide a qualifiedright to SLI services for specific purposes. The provision of a sign languageinterpreter may constitute an example of a reasonable adjustment under the DDAbut the act does not specify in exactly what circumstances this would be the case.The DDA has done much to raise general awareness about the needs of Deaf andpeople with disabilities and has contributed to the development of more positiveattitudes. However for Deaf sign language users, their access to the rightsafforded by the law and the means whereby service providers respond is basedon a definition of them as disabled, which many regard as inappropriate. Thecapacity for sign language users to access these rights and for service providersand employers to make 'reasonable adjustment' is critically limited by the shortageof interpreters and the need for greater awareness on the part of Deaf people andservice providers about their respective rights and responsibilities under the law.5.2.3 Combinations of the linguistic and disability approachMost of the countries studied in this review have norms and entitlements to SLIservices which reflect both of these approaches.Scotland is a country that is in the middle of an attitudinal change towards Deafpeople. British Sign Language (BSL) was officially recognised in March 2003.Since then, the Scottish Executive has passed responsibility for linguistic access inBSL to the Scottish Executive's Equality Unit. There is also a BSL and LinguisticAccess Working Party, which acts as an umbrella body under which the variousDeaf and Interpreting Organisations can come together. However, in spite of thischange in strategy, in reality, entitlement to interpreting services for Deaf peoplein Scotland is through the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).5.2.4 Prioritisation of SLI servicesWhether entitlements are defined and SLI services provided on the basis oflinguistic need or disability, it is inevitable that some prioritisation has to takeplace. Government funding for SLI services reflects the statutory obligations ofeach country, i.e. as set out in legislation. Deaf people's entitlements in other(non-statutory) areas may be more limited. In all the countries considered in thisreview, access to justice has priority, followed by education, employment, andmedical situations.For example, the Danish government requires that interpreting support beprovided for any Deaf person who needs to attend court, or to see their doctor.Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland • page 87