Seán Power
Question:404 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason he has decided to discontinue funding for the national reading initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29412/00]
Written Answers. - National Reading Initiative.
The national reading initiative was launched on 21 January 2000 as a one year initiative with two briefs: to raise awareness in the general public of the importance of reading and to lay the foundation for improving the quality of the teaching of reading in the formal and non-formal sectors.
The initiative was a community-wide initiative, collaborating with schools, libraries and voluntary community groups. Opportunity was given to local groups across all sectors to apply for funding to design, organise and run community-based projects aimed at increasing reading use and-or improving reading standards. The interdepartmental and interagency involvement, together with the public response from all sectors and all counties in the country has made this initiative a great success.
Since the launch, in January of this year, the initiative has been involved in a multi-media campaign; a book project where five free books are being distributed through the health boards to every baby born in 2000; an international reading conference; a teaching aid video on the implementation of the revised English curriculum – primary; a summer course for teachers entitled Nurturing Lifelong Readers; a transition year competition.
The initiative is now nearing the end of its one-year term and all of the planned projects are either up and running or nearing completion. Success of an initiative of this kind is very much determined by its defined timeframe and I do not believe that prolonging the initiative for a further period would yield equivalent results.
I acknowledge the importance of literacy in surmounting the barrier between exclusion and inclusion within our society. Literacy is a concern of constant focus for my Department and the national reading initiative is one of a number of measures I have initiated which will ensure a definite and lasting contribution.
In order to ensure that the valuable groundwork laid by the national reading initiative is utilised fully, a final report on the different elements of the initiative will be prepared in the coming weeks and my Department will review the results achieved.
This review will assist me in identifying the elements of the initiative which could be repeated or enhanced in future years.