Press Information

Mission statement for The Irish Deaf Society

The Irish Deaf Society aims to strive to highlight the societal needs of all sections in the Deaf community, advocate the human rights of the Deaf through empowerment and achieve equal access in all aspects of life endowed by the full Irish citizenship. The empowerment and equality shall be through upholding the status of Irish Sign Language and its related culture and norms.

The Irish Deaf Society  1981-2011

• The Irish Deaf Society (IDS) is the national representative organisation of Deaf and hard of hearing people, serving the interest and welfare of the Deaf community, and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
• The IDS was set up by a group of Deaf people on the 13th January 1981. They were concerned with a society that was not treating Deaf people as equals. Barriers back in the 1980s included a lack of subtitles on Irish TV, a lack of Irish Sign Language Interpreters, a lack of information being translated into Irish Sign Language and a general lack of awareness from the community on who and what the Irish Deaf community were about.
• In 2011, the Irish Deaf Society is based at 30 Blessington Street, Dublin 7 and runs:
  • Deaforward - Advocacy Services for Deaf people
  • Deaf Adult Literacy Services (DALS) - Literacy classes for Deaf people (nationwide)
  • Irish Sign Language Academy
    • Irish Sign Language Classes
    • Campaign for ISL recognition
  • Irish Deaf News - Magazine
  • Irish Deaf News - ISL news for the Deaf on Youtube.
  • DVD translations - Translating information into Irish Sign Language onto DVD

To be Deaf in mainstream society is no easy feat, with our community dominated by hearing society. We encounter challenges on a daily basis, which can affect our identity and our cultural outlook. Life in the Deaf community is, in a way, similar to life in a fishing village. We know that the ‘ocean’ of mainstream society can be dangerous and oblivious to our needs - but life dictates that we need the ocean to survive.

The core values of the Irish Deaf Society are:

Irish Sign Language (ISL):
Deaf people have the right to use ISL as their primary language, enriched with Deaf culture, where linguistic oppression must be a thing of the past.

Human Rights:
Deaf people have the right to live as equal citizens on par with hearing people. Discrimination, which is violation of their rights, is illegal.

Education:
Deaf children have the right to be educated in ISL in a bi-lingual environment and Deaf people have the right to full access to all third level institutions.

Social inclusion:
The provision of qualified ISL interpreters must be utilised, which would enable Deaf people to independently access and participate within the public domain in society.

Equal opportunities:
Deaf people have the right to equal employment opportunities on both a management and professional level.

Quality Living conditions:
Deaf people have the right to equ itable living standards as the rest of society, where nothing hinders their participation.

Families:
Families of Deaf children have the right to receive comprehensive Information with access to the Deaf Community, its culture and language.

Empowerment:
Deaf people have the right to represent the Deaf Community on a local level.

Social and political partnership:
The government and state agencies must involve Deaf people and Deaf-led organisations in the community, education, health, legal and social fields.

FACT: Information on Irish Sign Language

• Irish Sign Language is the first and/or preferred language of 5000 Deaf people in Ireland and approximately 40,000 people in general will communicate in ISL (family, friends, co-workers, etc).
• Irish Sign Language is the indigenous language of the Deaf community and research shows that sign languages are full languages with its own complex linguistic structure, rules and features. It is a visual and spatial language with its own distinct grammar and not only is it a language of the hands, but also of the face and body.
• Irish Sign Language has no official status in Irish legislation and this is a vital aim of the Irish Deaf Society to get recognition and upholds the status of ISL in Ireland particularly in education where its acquisition as a first language for Deaf children is so vital.
• Irish Sign Language is recognised in Northern Ireland but not in the Republic of Ireland
• Irish Sign Language is different from all other sign languages such as British Sign Language, American Sign Language etc.
• Ireland is unique in that we have gender sign language, i.e. Men and Women in Ireland have different sign languages due to being educated in separate schools.
• The Deaf community sees itself as a linguistic and cultural minority group as opposed to being disabled.

FACT: Information on Literacy levels in the Irish Deaf Community and Education of the Deaf

A survey carried out by the National Rehabilitation Board (NRB) in 1991, showed that 80% of Deaf adults have a literacy equivalent of average 8 or 9 year olds. Literacy difficulties occur within 25% of the national population (OECD adult literacy survey 1998). This represents a serious imbalance and inequality for the Deaf community in Ireland.

In an IDS survey in 2006, "Signing in and Signing out" (2004) ; Deaf adult respondents were asked about their confidence in reading newspapers, writing letters or emails and filling out official forms.

• Participants were asked to grade themselves in terms of their own confidence levels, more than half of the survey participants lacked confidence in filling out a form or writing a letter or email.
• The Irish Deaf Education System produced over 70% of school leavers to have ‘little to no confidence’ in reading a newspaper.
• The Irish Deaf Education System produced nearly 80% of school leavers to have ‘little to no confidence’ in writing a basic letter or even to use email.
• The Irish Deaf Education System produced over 80% of school leavers to have ‘little to no confidence’ in filling out an official form

The Department of Education and Science White Paper 2000
The DES White Paper in 2000, acknowledged the shortcomings in education for the Deaf. In addressing the literacy problems among Deaf adults, the IDS established the national Deaf adult literacy services in 1998 as a compensatory education for the Deaf adults who did not have an adequate education. It was another chance for Deaf adults, as part of their lifelong learning through ISL.

The Deaf Adult Literacy Services is kindly funded by the Department of Education and Skills.

Facts:  Employment in the Deaf Community

• One in four Deaf Adults left school with no examination qualifications
• One in three has problems with basic functional literacy
• 60% of respondents in "Signing in & Signing out" (SISO) were in paid employment however 69% of respondents earned less than €24,000.00 (SISO, pg 36, 2004)
• It was concluded that: "Deaf people have higher than average unemployment rates and all of the unemployed are long-term unemployed and of those at work, higher than expected proportions are in manual jobs and pay levels are extremely low, with a larger proportion earnings below the average industrial wage." (pg. 44, SISO)

FACT: Information on how the Irish Deaf Society is funded

The Irish Deaf Society relies on

• Government Funding
  • Department of Education and Skills
  • Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs
• Fundraising.
• Charity Shop (Voluntary run)
  The Irish Deaf Society receives minimal Government funding