I thank the Minister for taking this matter. The first part of my motion is a proposal which may help reduce illiteracy among the adult population; the second part is to encourage a pleasant introduction to reading and writing skills for those about to embark upon the school cycle. As Senator O'Toole often reminds us, all the evidence from the teaching organisations is that adult literacy should be addressed first at primary school level and, if it were given the necessary resources, many of the difficulties we face would be eliminated or at least reduced.
Unfortunately, we have one of the highest adult illiteracy rates in the world. That stark statistic is a surprising contradiction, given the phenomenal growth in the economy, job creation and employment opportunities which are linked to the worldwide perception of Ireland's workforce as young, well educated and available. However, that is the reality. The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy O'Dea, is introducing on an ongoing basis a number of initiatives in this regard. I raised this matter in the context of assisting his efforts.
On a visit to America in my other profession as a broadcaster approximately seven to eight years ago, an adult literacy programme inaugurated by the State of Tennessee came to my attention which harnessed the celebrity status of many of the country music stars who live and work in the state, some of whom have become globally famous such as Garth Brooks, to encourage adults with literacy problems to enrol in statewide literacy programmes. This was done by way of public service announcements or commercials on radio and television, billboard advertisements and employing the full weight of the printed media. More importantly, however, the state authorities also operated at a much lower level by arranging for celebrities to meet young people in schools. It is in that area that a pilot project could be developed in Ireland.
I am sure the House will agree that if Roy Keane, the footballer, Sonia O'Sullivan, the athlete, or Ronan Keating from Boyzone visited a school in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the country — where the majority of literacy problems arise — and said that it is "cool" to read and write, it would have a positive effect. To be more specific, if Roy Keane stated that he would not have been able to sign a contract if he were not able to read or write the response from young people to their role model would far outweigh the effects of what might loosely be termed as "unimaginative" and "overtly serious" promotions of the problem of adult literacy. A great number of these promotions tend to go over the heads of the people at whom they are aimed.
I intend no implied criticism of the current policies of the Department in respect of adult literacy problems, I am merely of the opinion that an injection of creativity and imagination into the scheme could bear a more rapid and positive response. I would be grateful to hear the Minister's response to this suggestion in terms of whether he intends to explore the possibilities to which it would give rise. The scheme I propose would need to be creative, imaginative and sustained rather than a once-off intervention because adults with literacy problems are not the type of people who can easily make their difficulties known. These people need encouragement.
I pay tribute to the Department for its initiatives in this area but there is no doubt that additional resources are required. I also pay tribute to the VEC sector which, outside Dublin, has the highest success rate in helping to eliminate adult literacy problems. In that context, I pay particular tribute to the efforts of Áine Bohan, the adult literacy officer, and Donal Scully in County Leitrim.
The second part of this matter relates to a project initiated in Birmingham in the past two years. The programme is called Bookstart and, according to a recent article in The Guardian it supplies “the more than 15,000 babies born in the city with a book at around the eight-months stage when they are taken along to their local health centres for hearing tests.” I understand the authorities in Birmingham have intervened at that stage because it is a good point at which to gain the interest of young mothers visiting health centres with their babies. The article goes on to state:
The book comes in a bag with some posters and leaflets explaining to parents and carers how essential it is to open a book with their babies every day and get them used to it.
Evidence from Bookstart's pilot year suggests this early experience with books pays dividends by the time the toddlers start school, according to Professor Barry Wade of Birmingham University's School of Education, who has been assessing it. Their reading, writing and arithmetic skills are likely to be more advanced than those of children who have not had the same exposure to books in their first year out of the womb. "It shows the huge potential of the early years and it shows just how much children can learn from the company of interested adults," he said.
Staff at Birmingham's 40 community libraries take the bags along to the health centres to present them to the babies and discuss the philosophy and procedures with their mums, dads and any other carers.
The article to which I refer further states that, according to scientific evidence, Bookstart babies "performed noticeably better than their peers in all categories of the Baseline Assessment", they were "often ahead on assessments for speaking and listening, reading and writing and did better on assessments of using and applying maths, number and shapes and measures" and "were also clearly ahead of other babies not in the scheme in both literacy and numeracy".
I have essentially provided an overview of the scheme. I suggest we could tackle the problem of adult literacy by adopting both parts of my proposal, the first of which would be directed towards adults with literacy problems and those from age ten or 11 upwards — which seems to be the level at which such problems begin — through harnessing the efforts of celebrities who are role models for people, young and old, and who are always willing to help if asked; the second would be directed at the very young through the establishment of a Bookstart programme. I will be interested to learn the Minister's views in respect of my proposal.
