A High Court action aimed at compelling the State to provide for a young deaf and mute girl to be taught the curriculum through the medium of Irish Sign Language (ISL), described as "the natural sign language of deaf people in Ireland", has been settled.
Similar actions were also initiated this week by John Hanlon on behalf of two other deaf children.
The 11-year-old girl's mother had said that, prior to being able to communicate with her daughter using ISL, she had no way of communicating with her.
The girl suffers from a rare genetic condition, Ohdo blepharophimosis syndrome, characterised by eye problems, delayed development and growth, deafness and poorly developed teeth.
The girl's action was due to open before Mr Justice George Birmingham yesterday. After settlement terms were presented by the State and approved by the girl's parents, Michael Counihan SC, with Tony O'Connor SC and John Hanlon, for the girl, asked the judge to rule the settlement. He did so, and also struck out the proceedings. He asked that the girl's identity not be disclosed.
It had been claimed that the girl, who is receiving limited ISL instruction, requires one teacher and one assistant who are fluent in ISL to maximise her abilities.
Under the settlement, the Minister for Education noted that the "primary vehicle" for delivery of the girl's education is to be ISL.
The department agreed to fund two teachers from her school to attend a diploma course in ISL, and to use its "best endeavours" to ensure one ISL teacher is assigned to her at post-primary level.
