Nine year-old Anna Moran has been severely deaf since birth. Her mother, Lucy, has "been fighting and arguing since Anna was one" to get tuition in Irish Sign Language (ISL) for her.
Now attending St Mary's School for Deaf Girls in Cabra, Dublin, Anna is still not getting tuition in what her mother regards as her own language from a qualified tutor.
Although the post of ISL tutor was advertised last month and a person appointed in the past fortnight, the parents have refused to accept this. The successful candidate is not qualified to teach ISL.
Ms Regina O'Carroll, school principal, has confirmed that one of the three applicants did have a Diploma in ISL Teaching from Trinity College Dublin's Centre for Deaf Studies. However, she says several criteria were used in selecting a tutor.
"There was independent system and an independent person on the interview panel. The candidate selected was seen to be best suited to the needs of the children and the school," she said.
The Department of Education, while it had sanctioned funds for the post, did not stipulate that the person should have an ISL teaching qualification.
Following a "lengthy" board meeting on Monday night, the matter has now been referred to the Department of Education.
ISL is the sign language of the Irish deaf community and is not a Gaelic form. While many believe deaf children should be taught orally and encouraged to speak English, a growing proportion of the deaf community regard ISL as their first language.
Without it, says Lucy, her daughter is cut off from the world. "I am so concerned because this is my daughter's language and it's not being taken seriously," she says. "You wouldn't appoint a teacher in a mainstream school without the proper qualifications."
While she has fought for ISL tuition for Anna and has "put up with" tutors without formal qualification, she is now demanding the tuition be of the highest possible quality.
Mr Jim Kavanagh, primary divisional inspector with the Department of Education, with special responsibility for deaf education, said the Department encouraged all schools to employ the most qualified candidate. However. the selection process was a matter for the board of each school.
