Family may have to sell home to fund High Court case

Andrew Geary is campaigning for an in-classroom Irish Sign Language teacher and interpreter for his profoundly deaf son Calum

Andrew Geary said without an ISL teacher and interpreter in the classroom, Calum will never be able to fully understand what is going on in class. Picture: Denis Minihane

The family of a profoundly deaf 12-year-old child has said they are proceeding with a High Court action against the State despite fears they may be forced to sell their family home.

Andrew Geary, who is campaigning for an in-classroom Irish Sign Language teacher and interpreter for his profoundly deaf son Calum, told the Irish Examiner the family may have no choice but to put their home on the market to fund their legal challenge.

“We had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but if that’s what it takes to ensure Calum’s constitutional right to an education, then that’s what we will have to do,” Mr Geary said.

Calum Geary, who is from Ballyhooly in Co Cork, was born without an auditory nerve, meaning he is profoundly deaf and beyond medical or mechanical intervention.

Because he has never heard human speech, and will never himself speak, Calum’s first language is Irish Sign Language (ISL), which is – since the commencement last year of the 2017 Irish Sign Language Act – one of Ireland official languages.

Calum’s dad, who is a garda sergeant teaching in the Garda College in Templemore, said without an ISL teacher and interpreter in the classroom, Calum will never be able to fully understand what is going on in class, in the way his hearing classmates take for granted.

“It’s important to stress that what profoundly deaf children like Calum need is essentially an ISL-fluent teacher who would work in the classroom alongside the regular teacher, interpreting and explaining not just the lessons, but also all of the often-complex interactions which occur between teachers and students,” he said.

Calum is currently attending St Columba’s National School in Douglas,  Cork, and Mr Geary says Calum loves the school, which has 34 deaf and hard-of-hearing students from across Co Cork. However, he fears for his son’s future in secondary school without an ISL teacher and interpreter.

Falling behind

Calum’s twin brother Donnacha, who has full hearing, has just started secondary school, while Calum is repeating sixth class, something his father says demonstrates how Calum, a child “every bit as clever as his brother”, is already falling behind.

It is understood that fewer than 100 children in Ireland are as profoundly deaf as Calum, and fewer than 10 of those children currently has access to an in-classroom ISL teacher and interpreter. A qualified ISL teacher and interpreter will have completed a four-year level 8 Bachelor’s Degree in Deaf Studies at Trinity College Dublin.

“We are not talking a huge outlay for the State to fulfil its constitutional duties here, and it would mean that Irish children like Calum would not be left behind,” Mr Geary said.

The Department of Children said it could not comment on specific cases. The Department of Education had not yet responded to a request for comment.