Minister for Education Mary Hanafin stood over her decision to disband an education committee when it failed to reach agreement on the best approaches to teaching the deaf and hard of hearing.
She said that three years after its establishment and after missing three deadlines to complete its report, the committee showed "little willingness to reach consensus" between the oral tradition and sign language.
The differences between the two groups were "not only insurmountable, but historical and deeply felt", the Minister said.
"Rather than continue down the cul-de-sac that the committee's work had become, I have decided that a different approach is required and this approach includes involving the National Council for Special Education."
Ms Hanafin was responding during education questions to Sinn Féin's spokesman Seán Crowe who asked if she had made a decision about whether to favour the oral or sign language approach.
There was, he said, "anger and frustration within the deaf community at your arbitrary decision to disband the committee".
Denying her decision was "arbitrary", the Minister said the committee was broadly based and represented teachers, parents and people who were deaf and hard of hearing. One group favoured teaching deaf children to speak and understand spoken language, while the second group wanted "sign language as the appropriate and exclusive means of communication".
