The woman attempted to access the service over the telephone with the assistance of an Irish Sign Language interpreter. However, she was refused access to the service in this way.

The woman then made a request for an Irish Sign Language interpreter to be provided for her in branch, in order for her to access the service. She did not receive a response for a number of weeks and, as the matter was urgent, she had no option but to attend the branch in-person, without an Irish Sign Language interpreter.

As a result, the woman brought a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission under the Equal Status Acts on the ground of disability and the failure to provide her with reasonable accommodation. Following mediation, her case was settled to the satisfaction of all parties.

Deirdre Malone, director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, said: “Irish Sign Language is recognised as an official language in Ireland and as a native language for its users.

“Public bodies have a statutory duty to provide users with free ISL interpretation when accessing statutory entitlements and services.

“They also have a legal obligation to comply with the public sector equality and human rights duty, which requires them to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and protect the human rights of public sector staff and service users.

“We welcome that this case has been settled to the satisfaction of both parties, including our client who faced additional barriers in accessing a public service due to the fact she is deaf.”