These rates and conditions apply to all bookings made by one party (hereafter “the paying client”) directly with CL SignSearch Ltd (hereafter “the company”) to provide interpreting services through a registered and qualified Irish Sign Language / English interpreter (hereafter “the interpreter”). Rates, Terms and conditions may differ for assignments where booking has been made through an interpreting agency and/or relates to a particular State funded scheme funding interpretation.

The rates below include preparation time and travel time, except for situations where travel and / or preparation are charged for separately (see later in this document). Charges and fees will be quoted in advance.

Please note that these rates apply equally to both in-person and remote (Zoom, etc.) interpreting assignments.

Rate Bands

(Applicable from 1^st Nov 2025)

The company reserves the right to define and charge for any assignment as being either Generic, Specialised, or Advanced. This categorisation will be on the basis of the assignment’s subject matter, pace, content, participants, availability of preparation material, or any other relevant factors.

Type of Assignment		Duration	Fee
Generic	Short Assignment	under 3 hours	€180 + VAT
	Long Assignment	3-7 hours	€360 + VAT
Specialised	Short Assignment	under 3 hours	€195 + VAT
	Long Assignment	3-7 hours	€390 + VAT
Advanced	Short Assignment	under 3 hours	€210 + VAT
	Long Assignment	3-7 hours	€420 + VAT
Other (translation, subtitling, transcription, video editing etc.)		Hourly rate	€60 + VAT

• Generic: applies to non-specialised, general interpreting assignments, as determined by the company.
• Specialised: applies to interpreting assignments requiring additional skills, training or expertise beyond that required for generic level assignments. This includes assignments such as performance, broadcast, advanced third level education, conference, certain medical interpreting assignments, or other assignments as determined by the company.
• Advanced: applies to assignments which may require additional skills, training or expertise beyond that required for generic level assignments, and which also present significant potential risks to health and/or life outcomes for participants and/or interpreters. This includes assignment types such as legal (including Garda / police interviews, consultation with solicitors, courtroom work, etc.), mental health, certain medical assignments, or other assignments as determined by the company. 

Additional Charges, Fees and Expenses

1. Value Added Tax: VAT will generally be applied to all fees and charges for clients in the Republic of Ireland, including travel costs.
2. Travel expenses: Mileage will be charged (at a rate of 41.8 cents per km) where assignments take place more than 40km from the offices of the company.
3. Travel time: in addition to travel expenses, for assignments requiring more than 90 minutes travel each way, an additional rate (generally a Short Assignment rate) may be charged to cover travel time.
4. Outside Office Hours / Unsociable Hours: for assignments taking place during evenings (after 6.00pm), weekends, or during bank holidays, an extra charge may be applied.
5. Accommodation expenses: Extra charges for accommodation may be incurred where assignments take place outside of the north Dublin / Meath / Louth area which, in the view of the company, require an overnight stay.
6. Preparation charges: Extra charges may be applied for:
   – Assignments where a significant amount of time is necessary for preparation (e.g. technical conferences, scripted performances, etc.)
   – Attendance at preparatory events (e.g. site visits, rehearsals, or pre-assignment meetings).
7. Assignments of 8+ hours duration: these will be charged additionally, per hour or part-hour, at an hourly rate based on one-third of the appropriate Short Assignment rate. E.g.:
   Conference, beginning 9.00am, ending 6.00pm:
   9am – 5pm (breaks + 1 hr lunch): Advanced Long Assignment rate €390
   5pm – 6pm (over 8 hours): + additional ⅓ High Skills Short Assignment rate €63
8. Start and End Times of Assignments: Requests for the interpreter to arrive before the beginning of the event (e.g. to arrange lighting, positioning etc.), or to stay on after an assignment (e.g. to informally interpret during lunch, dinner or other social event) will entail these additional periods being included in the overall quote, e. g.:
   – Event starts 9.00am, ends 12.00pm: Short Assignment rate.
   – Event starts 9.00am, ends 12.00pm, interpreter requested to arrive 8.30am: Long Assignment rate (8.30am – 12.00pm = 3.5 hours).
9. Lunch breaks for Long Assignments: Long Assignment rates (for assignments of duration over 3 hours) must include an hour for lunch break without interpreting work. Thus, a 9am – 5pm assignment will be charged at Long Assignment rate, provided the interpreter is afforded an hour lunch break without expectation of interpreting during that time. Provision of breaks shorter than one hour, or lunch breaks where the interpreter is expected to interpret, may entail additional charges. E.g.:
   – 9am – 5pm (sufficient breaks + 1 hr lunch): 7 hours interpreting = Long Assignment rate
   – 9am – 5pm (sufficient breaks + 30mins lunch): 7.5 hours interpreting = Long Assignment rate + ⅓ Short Assignment rate
10. Late finishing of assignments: Assignments which run over the time originally booked for may be charged additionally. For short periods of overrun, additional charges will apply for each hour or part-hour, at a rate based on one-third of the original rate:
    e.g. Generic Meeting: originally booked 10.00am – 11.00am; overruns until 11.35am
    – 10.00am – 11.00am: Generic Short Assignment rate (as per quote) -> €180 + VAT
    – 11.00am – 11.35am: + additional ⅓ Generic Short Assignment rate -> €60 + VAT
    e.g. Conference: originally booked 9.00am – 5.00pm, overruns until 5.45pm
    – 9.00am – 5.00pm: Advanced Long Assignment rate -> €420 +VAT
    – 5.00pm – 5.45pm: + additional ⅓ Advanced Short Assignment rate -> €70 + VAT
    Assignments that were originally booked as Short Assignments which overrun beyond 4 hours will immediately be charged as a Long Assignment.
11. 4-hour Assignments: Assignments of up to 4 hours duration, with substantial break(s) in between, may be charged at Short Assignment rate, e.g.
    – 9am to 1pm (1 hour break 11.00am-12.00pm with no interpreting): Short Assignment rate
    – 9am to 1pm (30 min break, with no interpreting): Long Assignment rate
    All other assignments between 3 and 7 hours in duration will be charged at Long Assignment rate.
12. Pro bono / reduced rates: The company may at their discretion provide services on a reduced or pro bono basis in specific cases, but in general, will not supply services on a reduced or pro bono basis. Please click here for the rationale behind this.
13. Reduced local rate: At the discretion of the company, assignments in the Bettystown / Laytown / Drogheda area, less than 50 minutes in duration, not taking place at weekends or after 6pm Monday to Friday, may be charged at a reduced rate.

Cancellation Policy

1. Bookings of an interpreter through the company are considered to be made when a communication is received from the paying client acknowledging receipt of, and approving, a quote and terms and conditions for the supply of services of the interpreter. If the services of the interpreter are cancelled, fees will apply as follows:

• 1(a): Assignments cancelled less than five working days before the previously agreed date and time of assignment: 100% cancellation fee (less travel expenses, if not already incurred).
• 1(b): Assignments cancelled between five and ten working days before the previously agreed date and time of assignment: 50% cancellation fee (less travel expenses, if not already incurred).

2. Where the interpreter has been booked for an assignment, and the said assignment is subsequently postponed, or the date or time of the assignment otherwise changed unilaterally by the paying client within the timeframes listed at 1(a) and 1(b) above and where the interpreter is unavailable for the new assignment time or date, the above cancellation fees in (2) shall apply.

3. Where the interpreter has been booked for a Long Assignment, and the duration of the assignment is subsequently (within the timeframes listed at 2(a) and 2(b) above) shortened unilaterally by the paying client, and the interpreter is available for the new times, the previously quoted Long Assignment fee shall still be applied.

4. The company may waive or reduce cancellation fees at their discretion.

Terms and Conditions

1. An interpretation (remote or face-to-face) is a best human effort product. It in no way promises to be verbatim or perfect, and does not equate to an edited translation.
2. The video or audio recording of the interpreting service will require the prior permission of the interpreter at all times.
3. Due to reasons of health and safety, as well as the need to maintain quality of service, the majority of Long Assignments (and most Short Assignments over 45 mins) will require a co-interpreter. The co-interpreter should be appropriately qualified and skilled. In certain circumstances, Deaf interpreters may be recommended by the company to work alongside the interpreter. The first interpreter can assist in sourcing a co-interpreter for the assignment. The co-interpreter’s own rates, terms and conditions etc. may differ from those above, and will be invoiced for separately, unless the co-interpreter is also booked via the company.
4. Due to health and safety reasons, an interpreter when working alone is required to have at least a 10 minute break within each hour of the assignment. Service may be discontinued if such breaks are not supplied.
5. The nature of the event to be interpreted must be disclosed to the interpreter at time of booking, (including a brief description of the event, purpose of event, rough idea of number of participants, exact location, etc.) Any changes to the nature of the event must be signalled to the interpreter well in advance.
6. It is highly important that preparation material be forwarded to the interpreter at the earliest opportunity. Such material includes Power Point presentations, written notes, links to relevant websites, YouTube links to be used, etc. The interpreter will endeavour to contact the event organiser, contact person, speakers / presenters / lecturers, etc. to ask additional questions that assist in preparation. Lack of such preparation may result in difficulties for the interpreter and a non-optimum interpretation. For certain assignments, failure to provide preparation material and / or engage in preparation discussions prior to the assignment may result in withdrawal of service.
7. Remote interpreting presents many technical variables which can affect the ability to interpret. These variables are beyond the control of the parties involved, such as, but not limited to internet connection speeds or connectivity, power interruptions, lack of proper microphones, hardware and software issues. Best practices will be followed by the interpreter, who will meet requirements of the platform providers. However, the interpreter does not guarantee that he will be able to hear / see proceedings, or that listeners will be able to hear / see the interpretation, for reasons other than those beyond our reasonable control. When an interpreter cannot hear / see, they will advise they cannot interpret by drawing attention to this, and will make a best human effort to interpret as accurately as possible that which they can hear / see.
8. The company will accept only assignments where meaningful access for Deaf people is provided (Please click here for an explanation of this rationale). Assignments will not be accepted for assignments where
   a. Deaf people are not present, and no provision has been made to allow for their future access, e.g. by recording the event
   b. Deaf people are unable to access the interpretation fully due to e.g. partial interpretation of an event, or the interpreter being place in an unsuitable location during the assignment
   c. Minimal or no effort has been made to ensure Deaf participation in an event
9. Booking is recommended at least two weeks in advance. No guarantees of availability are made for particular assignments until officially booked.
10. On the day of assignment, the interpreter reserves the right to judge the interpreting situation to be above his/her level of ability, or outside the domain of his/her skills and experience. In this case he/she will inform those present immediately and advise on possible solutions and further action.