Seanad Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Nov 1999

Vol. 161 No. 8

Adult Literacy: Statements.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Mr. O'Dea)

The term "literacy" embraces listening, speaking, reading, writing and numeracy. It also includes personal development and the promotion of self-esteem, confidence and critical reflection. The importance of literacy to full participation in economic, social, civic and cultural life is self-evident. Of all the disadvantages faced by people, problems with literacy and numeracy can have the most profound effect in excluding individuals from participation in many walks of life. Things we take for granted – reading a newspaper, shopping for groceries, knowing the rules of the road, filling in application forms, going to a bank – can all be major hurdles for adults with literacy difficulties. They are compounded by low self-esteem, embarrassment and a fear of meeting the learning challenge. Literacy problems can have a pervasive negative influence on the quality of an individual's life. People who have literacy difficulties frequently experience a poor quality of life. Their ability to understand and engage in communication is severely limited in an age where electronic media rely, to an increasing extent, on high standards of literacy. Their ability to gain employment is restricted and they are generally confined to low-paid, unskilled work that often fails to allow them to give expression to the full range of their talents.

Furthermore, people with literacy difficulties frequently have to refuse promotion because they are not equipped for the literacy demands that promotion almost inevitably brings. They have difficulty travelling independently because they need to be able to read signs, maps and timetables. It is very difficult to envisage a person functioning effectively in almost any sphere of life without a modicum of reading and writing skills. I am deeply appreciative of the importance of literacy for the individual. However, literacy development is also a vital social issue, because literacy standards have major implications for social and economic development.

The social context of literacy development can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. Many of the information-based industries that have been attracted to Ireland in the past two decades rely heavily on the availability of a highly literate, well-educated workforce. On the other hand, people with low levels of literacy need support and encouragement from their immediate families and friends and the learning community of which they are part. Adult literacy is not simply a matter for Government or for the Department of Education and Science. It is a matter for the entire community – for families, employers and trade unions. While the Government is responsible for putting a high quality structure in place for the delivery of education, the co-operation of the community and the integrated support of the other agencies are essential to the successful implementation of educational policy in this sphere.

Clearly there is considerable scope for expanding adult literacy services and a number of imperatives exist for expanding the current level of service. First, approximately two thirds of the adult population did not progress beyond lower secondary education. We know that low education levels and low literacy levels go hand in hand. Second, the availability of educated young people has been exhausted in the course of recent economic and employment growth. Further economic growth will depend largely on the extent to which the skills of older workers can be improved.

A group representative of the Department of Education and Science, FÁS and other agencies has submitted recommendations on how literacy services might target unemployed people in particular. Other socially disadvantaged groups will also be catered for. However, literacy education will also need to be provided for groups of people with some literacy skills but with relatively little education. Ways and means of attracting such people back to education must be found. Many are in full-time employment, so perhaps there is scope for a partnership approach on the part of employers and trade unions in order to facilitate their employees and members in improving their education levels.

The Green Paper published in November 1998 ranks addressing low levels of literacy and numeracy as a top priority within adult education and proposes that investment in this area should increase on a phased basis to a minimum of £10 million per annum. We have made significant progress in that direction and recent increases will enable the adult literacy service to be developed and expanded further in the period ahead. The Green Paper also recommends the phased development of a back to education initiative for adults who have not completed upper second level education. My Department is drafting a White Paper on education which will be ready for publication early in the new year.

Using adult education as a means of combating social exclusion is a feature of the national development plan. During the period of the plan £1,027 million will be spent on programmes such as Youthreach, VTOS and post-leaving certificate courses. In particular this funding will target people with few, if any, educational qualifications and those who need to upgrade their skills. Almost £74 million is being allocated to an adult literacy strategy which, it is hoped, will see 100,000 people taking part in literacy programmes in the lifetime of the plan.

The results of the OECD survey on adult literacy showed that we live in a country where one quarter of the adult population has limited literacy skills, where older people had substantially lower levels of literacy than young people, where people who scored low on literacy tended to have less education, where twice as many unemployed people had low literacy levels than those in employment and where there is a strong association between low literacy levels and low income. The report also showed that many of those with poor literacy skills are not aware of this fact themselves. There is also a lack of awareness of the need to improve skills among the employed, as only 5 per cent of people indicated that poor literacy skills impeded their advancement. Another major finding in the survey was that those with the lowest levels of education are least likely to participate in adult education and training.

Action has been taken to address the problems identified in the OECD report. I have been asked to ensure there is a co-ordinated Government response to this priority issue and the resources available for adult literacy have been increased. The adult literacy budget has increased almost sixfold from a disgracefully low base of £850,000 when this Government took office to £5.665 million this year. Funds in this area will increase to over £7.825 million next year and will be supplemented by a budget for programme development and a pilot adult guidance service. The Green Paper on adult education made clear that our top adult education priority was addressing low levels of literacy and numeracy. The additional funding allocated to adult literacy has been used to set up a special adult literacy development fund which is administered by the vocational education committees. We will build on these developments in future.

Since we took office the number of people availing of adult literacy services has doubled from 5,000 to 10,000 per annum. Programmes for specific groups such as refugees, travellers, foreign nationals and those with special needs have also been developed. Programmes integrating the work of the FÁS-funded community employment scheme and the adult literacy service have also been developed and are currently being expanded by FÁS in each FÁS region on a pilot basis.

The Government is also committed to breaking the link between low literacy skills and unemployment. An interdepartmental working group on literacy for the unemployed has been established and is to make recommendations on the delivery of a targeted service to address the literacy and numeracy needs of the unemployed. A key goal will be to enhance interagency co-operation, to ensure a closer integration of services on an area basis, to increase opportunities for the pursuit of adult education and training at a basic level and to increase linkages and referral across programmes. These issues are at the heart of the review of the programme for Government. They underpin the approach of Government to using education as a key tool to fight poverty.

There is no doubt that education can make a major difference to a person's life chances – the difference between inclusion and exclusion. The longer a person spends in the education system, the better his or her literacy skills and overall employment and earning potential should be. Primary education is the highest education level of 40 per cent of those over 45. In contrast, over 80 per cent of the schooling cohort now completes second level education. This represents significant progress compared to previous decades, but the Government intends to further increase participation up to completion of senior cycle education. I recently launched an evaluation report on the radio series "Literacy Through the Airwaves", which consisted of a series of literacy programmes broadcast by the commercial radio station, Tipp FM. Materials for the classes were produced and supplied by the National Adult Literacy Agency and the series also involved the co-operation of the vocational education committees of Tipperary North and South Ridings and the active participation of the adult literacy centres, which are funded by the vocational education committees. The aim of the project was to design, produce and deliver a distance learning programme in adult basic education, consisting of a series of radio programmes supported by a printed study pack and by telephone communication with an adult literacy tutor. This was designed to help adults to improve their reading and writing skills in the privacy of their homes.

The pilot phase of "Literacy Through the Airwaves" has demonstrated that radio is a potentially powerful resource both in assisting literacy learners to access help and improve their skills and in providing a learning resource for learners, tutors and literacy schemes in maximising the possibilities which the ongoing expansion of the sector is currently undergoing. It is our intention to mainstream that pilot scheme immediately.

Building on the success of "Literacy Through the Airwaves", we have decided to develop literacy through television. A contract was recently awarded by the Department for the development of a series of 12 literacy programmes for television which will be broadcast next September. The Department is seeking to break new ground in educational broadcasting by combining best practice in adult education with the highest quality television production values. It wants the television literacy programmes to deliver tuition directly to people with a range of literacy difficulties, raising awareness of the extent of the problem while honouring the integrity of potential and real learners and students.

While we are aware of the scale of the adult literacy problem, significant progress has been and will continue to be made in addressing this issue. The measures I have described are being implemented in the context of a series of initiatives being introduced in primary and post-primary schools which will ensure that as time goes on the number of people coming into the workforce and adulthood with literacy difficulties will be progressively fewer.

Mr. O'Dowd

We held a debate on this subject approximately one year ago and there have been some important developments since then. I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to greater investment in improving literacy services, particularly the introduction of TV access to literacy programmes. People can watch them in the privacy of their homes. Television is probably the best medium to get the message across and to help people who are in need of this service. In many cases, people who are illiterate spend their lives hiding their problem. Learning in the privacy of their homes with the assistance of television is an ideal way of tackling that problem.

However, the problem is more complex. If one visits a District Court on a Friday, one will find that the children of families who were before those courts ten and 15 years ago are there today. There is a cycle of poverty and illiteracy which continues through generations. The State needs to take a broader approach than simply tackling adult literacy, although it is a key issue. Other Departments, such as the Department of Health and Children, should be involved in this learning for life process.

If a person does not have a secondary education and lives in a poor part of a city or town, he or she is likely to have poor health and no job and to end up in court. That is also true of his or her children. I have knowledge of this subject because I worked as a remedial teacher for many years. In that capacity, I have been in contact with many families who were disadvantaged and I have followed their fortunes not just through school years but through the rest of their life cycles.

This issue should also be of interest to the health boards. Many people who die prematurely tend to die from diseases which they cause themselves. Practices such as smoking and other health problems are often related to lack of knowledge or an inability to read or understand the issues involved. The index of health deprivation in Ireland brings many things to our attention and the lack of a proper education, as it is understood in the school system, is one of them. It is a key issue. If people cannot read or write, they cannot access the information they require.

It is ridiculous to try to tackle the problem once a person has finished his or her primary education. The difficulty is that they have not learned to read and they have not been supported through the psychological or teaching services or through special education in the primary school. While I accept that we must make every effort to address adult illiteracy, the reality is that the only way to tackle the problem in the long term is by investing properly in primary schools. We must get at the students who have reading and writing disabilities and provide them with the necessary support services and structures and the psychologists and teachers. Ideally, there should be a low pupil-teacher ratio in these classes to assist the students.

We must invest a great deal of money in this area. A disproportionate amount per capita should be invested in students from disadvantaged areas. Of course, an inability to be literate is not solely the prerogative of somebody from a poor background. Anybody can have a learning disability; the condition is not a respecter of class. Nevertheless, most of the people I have met who had a learning disability were from one section of the community. There is not enough investment in primary schools in those communities.

In Drogheda there is an important experiment taking place in one of the primary schools and in the secondary schools which are involved in providing support services for that primary school. Séamus Lynch, a local primary school teacher, runs a breakfast club and homework club. Over 200 meals are provided every day. Young students can have their breakfast, lunch and evening meal if they wish. Their parents are also involved. They are employed in FÁS schemes to cook these meals. The secondary school pupils who live adjacent to the school help in the evenings with the students' homework. It is an ideal intervention by the health board, which supports the funding of the initiative, and by the schools. It is a worthwhile project and I will be happy to send the Minister of State details of it. It is the type of nucleus which is needed to tackle the cycle of poverty and learning disadvantage.

I commend the partnerships throughout the country which are involved in assisting adults, particularly the long-term unemployed, who have literacy difficulties. I also welcome the assertiveness training they offer. One of the most important contributions of the partnerships is their provision of computer skills and other facilities to people who are disadvantaged. They assist them and give them the confidence they need to tackle the issues that have placed them at a disadvantage. The partnerships help people to overcome these issues and to be positive about themselves.

Employers nowadays have to be good employers if they wish to keep their employees. They have to provide their employees with the services they need. There is an increasing and welcome involvement by employers and the business community in ensuring that the quality of life of their workforces is as good as it can be. Supporting and encouraging further education in the place of employment empowers the employees to learn more, to secure a higher level of achievement in their jobs and to benefit in the long term.

The North Eastern Health Board runs a progressive healthy cities project. There are similar projects in Dublin and in Sligo. I think the project is also operating in Dublin. It is operated by the health board that covers County Sligo – I am not sure if that is the Mid-Western Health Board. Under the healthy city project all community interests co-operate to improve the health of a community. The setting up of adult literacy courses and other courses and the involvement of disadvantaged communities in deciding what they want is part of that project.

Significant improvements have been made in improving the level of adult literacy. I commend the Government on its work in this area, but much more needs to be done. It should not pat itself on the back for what it has achieved, rather it should invest much more money in the system.

On seeking the assistance of community welfare officers in their local health boards, it is disgraceful that people with a difficulty in reading and writing are asked to complete a multicoloured form that extends to many pages, particularly when most of the information required is on a database in the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, the Department of Health and Children or some other Department. I pointed this out to the local health board. Government agencies should review the requirement to complete such detailed forms, partic ularly when the reading skills of many adults are below the level required to do so.

Dozens of people ask us, as public representatives, to help them fill in forms to secure benefits from their local health boards, social welfare benefits or to apply for grants for their children's education. The Government should adopt a much more people friendly approach to issues such as this. I do know how this should be structured, but the Minister should examine issues such as this in the context of the system in the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and the community welfare system. If I telephoned the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs to make inquires on behalf of a constituent, a person could read from a computer in two minutes all the details I would require. If community welfare officers had the time, and I appreciate they would need more time, they could help people to fill in forms quickly and only the minimum of information should be required. The requirement that detailed forms must be completed puts at a disadvantage people who are facing possibly the most difficult period in their lives when they have to seek assistance under exceptional needs payments or special needs payments administered by the Department. This is an important matter that should be reviewed.

Another issue is one of confidence. People who have completed secondary education can confidently go into an office to get the information they require. They can communicate on a one to one basis, feel equal to those with whom they deal and participate fully in the system. People with a difficulty in reading and writing are automatically at a disadvantage when they go to their local authority office or health board office. Many of them do not have the confidence to know what to do, what to say or where to go. I acknowledge that an increasing number of our public sector workers are aware of this issue, but we need to make them even more aware of the need to put such people at their ease and to help them to get to the point where they can access the information or service they need as readily as possible.

Under the healthy city project the North Eastern Health Board is actively encouraging the setting up of centres, whether in local shopping centres or local health board offices, to access information. One should be able to use a touch screen computer in a one-stop-shop to access information, say, on the services provided by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, but one must be able to read and write to do that. I welcome the recognition of the need to provide readily accessible information to more people.

This debate is important as we approach the next millennium. It is also important to acknowledge that progress has been made in this area, although more investment is required. We cannot address this problem by way of a narrow band of activity. Excellent as our vocational education committees are, they must become more involved with health boards and community organisations to tackle this problem.

We must invest the necessary resources in primary and secondary education to target the next generation. We must invest more money in primary education, particularly in disadvantaged areas, to assist these people. That would ensure that in 20 years' time if we were to go to the local District Court in any part of the country, we would not know the families who, traditionally, have been there, that this cycle would have been broken and those people would be able to participate fully in society. That is what they and we want, but the necessary investment must be made now to ensure these people have the future to which they are entitled.

Ms Ormonde

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House to listen to what Senators have to say on adult literacy. It is imperative that all members of society should be equipped with the literacy skills necessary to cope with the demands of modern living. Inadequate literacy and numeracy skills put individuals at a great disadvantage socially and economically. It is okay to admit one is stupid when it comes to computers or even maths, but it is not okay to admit to a weakness in literacy. Inadequate literacy and numeracy skills will lead to the marginalising and stigmatising of individuals if the problem becomes known to employers and to their families and friends.

The educational attainment of our adult population gives us cause for concern. I was shocked by the 1997 OECD report on adult literacy. It highlighted the human cost of failure to promote fuller access to literacy skills. The report showed that more than 25 per cent of our adult population had limited literacy skills, approximately 30 per cent could only deal with simple matter and that 58 per cent left school at or before junior certificate level in secondary school.

A low level of literacy can have a profound effect in excluding individuals from participation in many walks of life. We take for granted such matters as reading a newspaper, doing the shopping, going to a bank or filling in an application form. These simple exercises can be a major hurdle for adults with literacy difficulties and this can be compounded by low self-esteem, embarrassment and a fear of meeting the learning challenge.

This research shows that people who have low literacy skills have had a poor education, that there is a correlation between low literacy levels and low income and that social class and the educational attainment of parents continue to exert a key influence on children's success at school.

Literacy can range from a narrow focus on skills development to those who emphasise the importance of literacy as the enabling skill that helps adults to exercise a greater choice in controlling their lives. Literacy involves the inte gration of listening, speaking, reading, writing and numeracy. It encompasses aspects of personal development – social, economic, emotional and cultural. It is concerned with improving self-esteem and building confidence and it goes far beyond the mere technical skills of communication. It is time we brought illiteracy out of the closet. Often people with this difficulty do not know how to approach others for help and do not know what help is available.

What should be our approach? In dealing with the literacy problem, it is necessary to adopt a two pronged approach, intervention and remediation. We must aim to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of school leavers and we must tackle the existing literacy problems among adults who did not benefit from the education system first time round.

The more recent initiative was the publication of the Green Paper. It set out to describe the existing provisions and to identify priorities in the areas of upskilling the workforce, addressing adult literacy and numeracy and proposes that investment in this area should increase substantially. The national development plan has also clearly defined its objective regarding the provision of opportunities so that every individual can obtain an adequate level of literacy and numeracy. Activists closely involved in the delivery of adult education such as the VEC, the voluntary organisations, AONTAS and the National Adult Literacy Agency have expressed their dissatisfaction with the State provision for adult education, hence the urgent need for a well-considered strategic approach, the Green Paper, which makes a range of recommendations for the future development of adult literacy services.

The Green Paper recommends that a national adult literacy programme be established to incorporate key features such as awareness, outreach, development of local referral networks, flexibility in provision, one-to-one and group tuition, staff development and standardised reporting. The Green Paper also proposes the National Adult Learning Council which will promote a co-ordinated strategy among the various providers such as the VEC and the voluntary organisations. It is vital to this process that the system which is developed is successful in targeting and responding to those most in need. Employers and welfare interests will also have to play a part.

I compliment the volunteer literacy tutors who have been recruited and have conducted courses in draughty old halls, parts of school buildings, people's houses, wherever they could get accommodation and resources to continue their work. To date funding has been provided in a piecemeal way, but this is included under the umbrella of the Green Paper to ensure future investment and that there will be a different role in terms of adult literacy.

We have acknowledged that some 500,000 adults have literacy problems and that 80 per cent of literacy teaching is done by volunteers. The Green Paper also highlights that the 15-plus age group who have left school with little or no education is the age group that must be targeted. It proposes back-to-school initiatives, with the expansion of the Youthreach scheme, post-leaving certificate courses and the VTOS. These options will be on a part-time basis to ensure flexibility and responsiveness, such as provision in the mornings or at night, or whenever necessary to make it easy for individuals to attend.

Most people would agree that adult education is a different phenomenon to conventional second level teaching. Adult education needs to be much more learner-centred than subject-centred. Often the people who avail of, or need adult education are those whom the traditional education system failed and who have had a bad experience with it. It does not help to slot them back into the same rigid, inflexible system. The skills required for teaching adults are also very different from those required for teaching second level students. The teacher needs to be more of a facilitator, a person capable of helping students to use their own initiative. The teacher needs to be a learner too. Unfortunately, this does not always happen with many adult class groups, partly due to the strait-jacket approach to schooling. We tend to get wedged in a second level concept.

Personal connection is important, to reflect on personal experience with individuals and to have dialogue in order to get the best out of the person. The development of services is another important priority to support access to adult education, such as the guidance and counselling service, the child care service and support for disabled people to access mainstream provisions.

Clearly evident, on analysis of the Green Paper, is that a significant number of agencies are involved in providing adult education and literacy development with many different needs. I welcome the Minister's proposal to increase funding to address low levels of literacy and numeracy. Since he took office the number of people who have participated in the adult literacy service has increased from 5,000 to 10,000. The Minister also aims to co-ordinate the network referrals at local level so that people should no longer, as he said, fall between the cracks. He is also making provision for the training of tutors, highlighted by the example of the family learning centre established in Clare. This family literacy programme aims to develop the literacy skills of adults and children. Programmes have also been initiated for specific groups such as refugees, travellers and those with special needs. That is to be welcomed.

The Government is committed to breaking the link between low literacy skills and unemployment. An interdepartmental working group on literacy for the unemployed has been established to address the literacy and numeracy needs of the unemployed. I congratulate the Government on that.

Education is the key tool in fighting poverty and narrowing the gap between inclusion and exclusion. The longer a person spends at school, the better his or her chance of improved numeracy skills and a better way of life. There is a move to promote literacy on the airwaves through delivering a distance learning programme in adult basic education to help their reading and writing skills in the privacy of their homes. I congratulate the vocational education committees and the Adult Literacy Agency, as well as community radio, on making this project such a success. Radio is a powerful resource to access and improve skills and supplement the existing service of one-to-one tuition. According to the Minister's speech, another initiative in the television literacy programmes is about to get off the ground.

Much is happening and much money is to be invested through the Green Paper. I look forward to the White Paper which is to be published in the New Year. One can invest as much as one likes in adult literacy and numeracy, but it is very important and necessary that the people trained to implement programmes can empathise with individuals and try to bring them into the mainstream because many of them have had bad experiences or have been failed by a traditional way of school life. Many of them need to be taught in another way. One must be aware that it is one-to-one tuition – all the other supports apply after that. If those people are not relaxing in one's company, they will not grasp the basics of literacy and numeracy. We have all experienced that through our schools. We find that people are not able to make the link with these people. They come for one or two classes and find they are not getting on very well with the tutor so they opt out, simply because they have inadequate communicating skills. No dialogue is created between the tutor and the individual. There is an awareness that one is presuming too much about the other and by the third evening the situation has changed and they are not interested in following up the course. This has been very prevalent in the past. I advise the Minister that we need to grasp that nettle. Our tutors must be well trained and able to empathise with the personalities of the people with whom they are dealing. We need to invest in that, as the Minister has endeavoured to do through the Green Paper, and I wish him well. We are grasping the nettle and I look forward to the White Paper on implementation of the legislation.

Mr. O'Toole

First I thank the Minister for his continuing interest and commitment in this area. It has been proven to be important to keep it in the public eye. We should look at this coldly and clearly and come up with a plan. I am sure Members share my view that the new interest in illiteracy is slightly cynical. It has suddenly become important to employers and to IBEC because of labour force problems. They now realise that many unemployed people are almost unemployable. It is a pity the same interest was not shown in this problem over the years when others, particularly teachers, pointed to the importance of dealing with it.

As regards people's quality of life, the Minister of State and Senators O'Dowd and Ormonde mentioned the extraordinary sense of exclusion which is visited on people who are unable to communicate through the written word. They lose out in every aspect of their lives. This is horrific and is something those of us who have not experienced it cannot understand.

I want to put in context the OECD figures which have only helped to create debate. The OECD report showed that Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States had illiteracy levels of 23 per cent, 24 per cent and 25 per cent. The fact that we are more or less the same as those countries puts the problem in a slightly different context. It also seemed to give the impression that one out of four people could not read, which we know is not the case. It means that one out of four people have or appear to have some type of reading difficulty. One of the problems created by this debate is that we are no longer sure about what we mean. The National Adult Literacy Association and other groups have defined literacy in four or five different levels. NALA, the OECD and other international agencies have worked on that basis.

When I called for this debate, I specifically asked the Leader of the House, who nods but does not hear, to ensure it dealt with illiteracy and literacy and that it was not just confined to adults. I was delighted the Minister of State and the other Members who spoke did not confine it to adults because that would not get to the bottom of the problem. I wanted a debate because as general secretary of a teachers' union I know that politicians and others feel uncomfortable and overly sensitive about dealing with this issue. They want to ensure they are dealing with it in a politically correct way which does not give offence to teachers.

I want to outline how a millennium literacy project, which I have put to the Government in another form and which would be better than spikes and candles, could work at primary school level where it must begin. We should celebrate the millennium by a proper literacy project. There are two ways of dealing with adult illiteracy. One is with adults and the other is with children to ensure we stem the creation of adult illiteracy. It is a classic example of an educational problem which is caused by a systemic shortage of resources. Illiteracy reflects a flaw or failure in the school system. Whoever is responsible, the school system and those of us in it are supposed to deal with it. If it is not being dealt with, it is a result of the way we do our work, the work we do or the resources we put into doing that work.

I was furious recently at the facile way "Prime Time" dealt with the literacy problem. The only conclusion it came to was that this problem is caused by a few bad teachers around the country. It was an appalling programme which was biased and did not bring us forward.

The INTO has concluded that despite some increases in resources, introduced by the Minister and the Minister of State, there has not been a significant improvement in literacy levels among school children. It is time for teachers to take the initiative and to look at how the remedial service works at primary and post-primary levels and whether we should specialise more in the literacy area. It must be a professional partnership approach. This will only work if the principal teacher, the remedial teacher, the educational psychologist and the class teacher are involved in the solution. Remedial teachers agree that taking the responsibility for the child's education away from the class teacher does not work. A remedial teacher must be there as a support to the class teacher.

It is right that we acknowledge publicly that there is a literacy problem. Teachers should take control of this problem and try to solve it. In order to do that, the Government should make a commitment to fund a national literacy committee, which would be inclusive of all the educational and social partners, to oversee and be accountable for the project. This should be separate from anything we have done before. We should put money into it, assess how the money is spent and see if it works.

The reason it has gone wrong in the UK and other places is that a huge amount of money has been put into ascertaining the size of the problem. The biggest problem to date is that there has been no intervention in the early stages. We need teachers who are specialists in the area of literacy. That will mean some teachers taking on additional courses to study the areas of literacy.

The older way of learning to read was the phonic method, where a child looked at a word, saw a letter which looked like a B, which was pronounced "buh", and that B, A and T could be put them together to spell bat. That was the way I learnt to read when I went to school. However, that was replaced by the look and say method, where a child went into school and saw a door with the letters D-O-O-R written on it. The door could then be related to the word and the letters. Another way of learning was to look at the shape of the words and letters and to become accustomed to them.

The best teachers I know say there is no one correct method of teaching reading but that it is a combination of all of them. Anyone who says the new way is better than the old way does not know what they are talking about. Certain methods suit different children. A dyslexic child, for example, who turns letters around is attuned to one method more than another. Decisions about teaching methods must be made. However, a class teacher with 30 or 35 children in a class cannot do that. That is why the remedial teacher is important and why we should have a specialist approach to literacy.

Class teachers should be able to identify four and five year old pupils in the junior infants class or up to six year olds in the senior infants class with difficulty in the literacy area. Any good teacher can do that. An experienced teacher knows halfway through the school year the children, even those in junior infants, who will experience difficulty. I know that sounds like a fatalistic thing to say about children and it is upsetting for parents, but it is a fact. If we decide to intervene at that stage and a committee is formed comprising the class teacher, the educational psychologist and a literacy specialist, it can design and put in place a course with the proper approach for that child. At the end of each term, the class teacher and the literacy specialist or the remedial teacher could assess the level of pupil improvement in the context of the class norms.

It would be useless to go to Southill in the Minister of State's constituency and try to apply the average learning standards in Castleknock in County Dublin. It must be the average for the class which is taken into account. The only way to work out whether a child has fallen behind is in the context of the average of his or her own class. That could be examined at the end of each term. We could then see if our intervention is working – remember this is a costly process.

Teachers, teacher unions and educationalists oppose league tables. There is a similar view about the testing of pupils to identify pupils or schools. Everyone shied away from it. I suggest that we aggregate nationally the results of the teachers' testing so that, for the first time, we would have a true picture of what teachers would consider the size of the literacy problem among five and six year olds. We could do the same among eight and nine year olds and the same again at the end of primary level. By the time we reached the third area of testing at primary level, the tests would be more scientific. We would begin by using teachers' judgment. Then on the second occasion we would rely on teachers' judgment plus whatever tests are used – useful tests have been developed in Mary Immaculate College, MICRA – Mary Immaculate College reading assessment. I would like to see teachers involve themselves in the composition of an instrument which could be used nationally at the end of the primary stage. There would be for the first time not a judgment call but a full picture of the level of literacy at the end of primary level.

This would help in a number of respects. It would allow us to track childhood problems into post-primary education. It would give the post- primary the authority to ensure there is a follow-on to the programme of intervention. It would enable the post-primary authorities to assess if the intervention is working.

There is a constant niggling between primary and post-primary levels. Those at post-primary level ask why they could not read when they left primary education and those at primary level say the children learn nothing when they enter the post-primary sector. These are normal professional tensions which are healthy in their own way but which are no good in terms of solving the problem.

This is important, as Senator O'Dowd will agree, because if a child leaves primary level with a reading difficulty and enters a post-primary school where there is no support, whatever level of literacy the child had reached will recede over the next few years if the post-primary school has no resources to help with remediation. In those vital few years, between 11 and 16, when they might start buying red top tabloids to read about football or "Coronation Street", they get out of practice in reading. This is a real problem unless the post-primary school has the resources to help the child. That is where the problem is exacerbated.

This would be very expensive. It is a project which would require literacy specialists, courses for teachers and national assessment with national collation of results to ensure value for money. It would cost as much as £20 million a year to make this work. I notice the Minister of State raising just one eyebrow – he is cool. It will be balanced, however. If we quantified the cost to the economy and to social services of people leaving school illiterate, that £20 million a year, which would reduce if the project was successful, would be the greatest investment we have ever made in our own future.

It is the view of teachers that 95 per cent of children have the ability to learn how to read. There will be a small number with a learning or other disability who might never have the potential to learn to read. We should be aiming for 97 per cent of all people being able to read. We will knock the illiteracy figure down from 25 per cent to 3 per cent. This is an approach which would enjoy the support of all the educational and social partners. It is a way to ensure that if there is a downturn in the economy, we have invested the resources to sort it out.

Mr. Kett

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his interest in this topic. Ireland has always prided itself on its love of learning. It played an outstanding role in preserving a great deal of western civilisation in the middle ages and has a rich literary and cultural treasury. There is a never-ending, river-run of talented writers, poets, dramatists and interpreters. There were monastic schools and hedge schools before the education structures of today. They have played a part in the creation of a web of general education and lifelong learning in Ireland through which an ever increasing number of citizens qualify themselves in literacy, numeracy and, later in life, in more sophisticated skills.

The proliferation of education institutions and learning opportunities in our society has led many people to assume that basic literacy would soon be universal. The assumption has been challenged by educationalists who have shown that, notwithstanding a compulsory State curriculum for reading and writing, literacy skills in adulthood are formed and modified by occupational and social need. In some groups, including linguistic minorities, travellers and the urban poor, it is frequently at a low level and sometimes it is totally absent.

A recent study suggests that 23 per cent of Irish people suffer at least partial illiteracy. This must have its origins in the fact that 3,000 students drop out of education every year. An estimated 19 per cent of students drop out before they complete their leaving certificate. Some of the factors involved in this are family dysfunction, broken homes, poverty, endemic unemployment in urban areas, deprived neighbourhoods, a drug and street corner culture, peer pressure, bullying, a lack of family models and a generation of family disinterest. There has also been unsuccessful intervention by schools and communities at some levels. A survey of libraries shows that reading is now a poor fourth behind television, pop music and videos for young readers. The survey demonstrates that less than 50 per cent of library books are borrowed for pleasure.

That is a brief analysis of the battle which must be fought to ensure literacy in difficult circumstances. The Information Society Commission, in its recent document, Building Capacity to Change, urges the Government to tackle adult literacy as the key democratic priority. It recommends the implementation of new learning initiatives with local libraries and schools as their hub. It encourages the Government to use the structures of the new education and training qualifications Bill to prioritise this work. This is fully in keeping with the stated objectives of the national development plan launched recently by the Government. It strongly recommends locally led initiatives and wisely restates the obvious need for major funding and investment to achieve these basic social and educational objectives. The professional development of teachers and trainers is essential to the success of the project and it goes without saying that the content of literacy programmes at junior, senior and adult levels must be agreed by all the parties involved. The trainers must then be trained and appropriate structures put in place for the implementation and evaluation of the programmes.

There is need for an integrated, co-ordinated, thoroughly professional and comprehensive inner city literacy programme in Dublin to com plement, enhance and give a greater profile to the excellent work being done in schools and communities. About 150 years ago the Young Irelanders used its own newspaper, The Nation, and a wide network of reading rooms to raise public consciousness of the political issues of the day, arouse national pride in Ireland's literary and cultural heritage and educate the general populace in a mood of community action and involvement. The James Joyce Centre – I am surprised Senator Norris is not present – recently proposed an almost exact replica of those efforts to facilitate an exciting, relevant and effective programme of literacy skills in Dublin. It proposed to help to create a web of virtual reading rooms and a network of television and radio stations, Internet services, e-mail addresses and newspapers in the inner city, with links to local organisations and communities, for the purpose of increasing literacy levels and developing the communication skills of all the participants involved and reviving the great art of storytelling, writing and performing.

All local cultural and educational institutions should play their part in co-ordinating a combined civic effort. There is need for an ambitious programme to organise, initiate, implement, evaluate and fund a comprehensive drive, particularly in Dublin, by bringing together all the key organisations and groups which can either effect delivery of a service or benefit from it. The programme should be designed to have a profound, meaningful and permanent impact on literacy and personal communications skills and community empowerment and the necessary structures should be put in place to maintain it on an ongoing basis.

There should be a series of events to alert the public to the importance of such a campaign, the achievements of which we could all celebrate. It should be implemented in co-ordination with the National Library, bodies such as the Department of Education and Science, vocational education committees and teaching organisations, not to mention schools, colleges and expert practitioners in the art of reading skills and remediation. Everyone with something to offer should play their part. Businesses may wish to sponsor or support it in some way. It could be spearheaded by the James Joyce Centre or the Irish Writers Centre in conjunction with all the other agencies which would want to be involved in an innovative way.

I recommend a five year programme to be funded by relevant Departments, statutory bodies, public subscription and Dublin city or multinational companies. As we approach the turn of the millennium we can offer no greater advantage to the public, particularly in the city that I represent, than the freedom to enjoy the benefits of one of the greatest gifts we can receive, the gift of literacy. It is not a right that should be bestowed, it is a God given and constitutional right by virtue of the sacrifices made long before we were elected to this House.

I urge the Minister of State to be brave and generous as he has been in the past. There is a bounden obligation on us as democrats to empower the public through self-education. Only then can we have full personal independence.

Mr. L. Fitzgerald

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is the first opportunity we have had since the debate last year on literacy and primary education to debate with him in depth the Green Paper, Adult Education in an Era of Lifelong Learning. I congratulate him heartily and most enthusiastically on its publication. It gives top priority to addressing low levels of literacy and numeracy and proposes that investment should increase on a phased basis to a minimum of £10 million per annum. It contains many radical and far-reaching proposals designed to transform the real Cinderella of the education system, adult education, by making it more appropriate to modern society and the rapid changes taking place therein. The Green Paper has provoked and promoted a huge debate on literacy and received exceptionally positive responses from practitioners and the organisations promoting and delivering the service at national, regional and local level such as the vocational education committees, NALA and others.

The 1997 OECD report on literacy provoked a huge outcry. The results for Ireland showed that on a scale of one to four, 25 per cent of the population were at level one. Previous surveys had indicated that about 100,000 were illiterate. Current projections indicate that the figure could be as high as 500,000. Basic literacy was always defined in terms of the ability to read and write to a level at which one could sign a form, vote or read a newspaper. The 1997 survey interprets literacy as the ability to understand activities in the home, achieve own goals and develop one's knowledge and potential.

I will not rubbish the OECD survey as it poses some fundamental questions for a modern and rapidly changing society. What is at issue is something fundamental and important, the way we communicate and make sense of the world around us. The word "oracy" springs to mind. To be literate one must be able to verbalise. If one cannot verbalise there is a break in the natural progression towards writing. A person with a literacy problem invariably cannot describe or verbalise what they see. They may know and be able to identify what it is, but unless they can describe it through language there is a comprehension deficit. I am referring to simple skills such as a driving test which involves visual, aural and verbal elements. Mechanical reading does not constitute literacy. Literacy must imply good comprehension.

Another example, and I had experience of this in my early teaching years, is where a mildly mentally retarded child can sometimes go through the mechanics of reading at a basic level but the problem of literacy is not detected until the comprehension deficit is highlighted. The stated objective of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, is to promote literacy and enable every individual to realise his or her potential to the maximum possible extent. I commend that as the abiding principle of literacy for the future.

Other findings in the 1997 survey were articulated this evening. For example, older people had lower levels of literacy than younger people; many of those who scored on the lowest level did not seem to realise that they had a literacy problem; there were negative economic, social, cultural and personal effects associated with low levels of literacy; those who showed low levels of literacy also correlated with those who had a much lower level of education; and the incidence of low levels of literacy was twice as high among the unemployed than those in employment.

Since 1997 and the publication of the OECD report, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, has a proud record of achievement in terms of funding, the Green Paper and many other initiatives he and his Department embarked upon or supported over that period. Since 1997, for example, resources for adult literacy have increased almost sixfold, from a paltry £0.85 million when the previous Government left office to £5.665 million in the current year. The Minister of State has already announced that funds will increase in this area to £7.825 million next year. Next year's allocation will be supplemented also by a budget for programme development and a pilot adult guidance service which, because of its vital significance, I hope to refer to in greater detail later.

Since the autumn of 1997, the number of people availing of the adult literacy service has doubled from 5,000 to 10,000. It is encouraging to learn also that programmes integrating the work of FÁS-funded community employment schemes and the adult literacy service have also been developed and are currently being expanded by FÁS on a pilot basis to each FÁS region. There are many other agencies to which other Senators, including Senator Kett, adverted which are part of the holistic approach to addressing this problem.

When one discusses the problem of literacy with practitioners in the field, they point to the problem of getting single parents into literacy programmes. I know this is a sensitive area but I want to deal with it because it has been brought to my attention on numerous occasions. They also point to the fact that a high percentage of lone parents have low levels of literacy. They leave school early and become pregnant, and when or if they wish to get back into education or participate in literacy programmes they cannot do so without the facilities. This has been dealt with in detail in the Green Paper. The vocational education committees, through the VTOS programmes, have a system whereby parents can get £50 per week crèche allowance. It is generally agreed that the effect of a crèche facility in an area is transgenerational. Not only will lone parents participate but in some instances the grannies will participate also.

In his foreword to the Green Paper, the Minister of State referred to the many adults who were not only denied educational opportunities in their youth but who, through their sacrifices, made a major contribution to the education of the current generation. The Green Paper wants these older men and women in the home, the hitherto neglected groups, to become the focal point for attention and investment. There is a culture of ageism. It is a modern malaise and the crèche will be one strategy which will address this issue to some extent. That issue is at the heart of the principle of social inclusion.

The Green Paper deals in detail with the question of access, an extremely important aspect. Unless crèches, counselling and guidance services are made available, the question of access will not be adequately addressed. It does not automatically follow, however, that easier access will lead to a corresponding level of increase in participation. There are many courses available but not everybody is taking them up. The Green Paper addresses this problem under a number of headings. Access is now seen as flexible, part-time courses, crèche facilities, guidance and counselling, awareness and outreach, as well as the development of co-ordinated referral networks at local level. These networks will ensure that people get access to State services. As the Minister said in his contribution, he will go all out to ensure that people do not fall between the cracks.

When responding initially to the survey, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, acknowledged that the previous lack of a cohesive programme for adult education was a major flaw which he intended to address in a comprehensive way. The proposals and conclusions in the Minister's Green Paper refer to many imaginative initiatives which should be sensitively introduced. A recent example was adverted to this evening and perhaps the Minister referred to it also – I am sorry I missed his contribution – namely, the development of flexibility and innovation through the "Literacy Through the Airwaves" project. This radio series was a laudable initiative which provided a form of distance learning. Distance learning is a key strategy in areas such as this where there are major inferiority complex problems, etc. This commendable series provided a form of distance learning for listeners in a sensitive and imaginative way. The evaluation report showed that the agencies involved worked extremely well and that the project was a major success. The pilot phase of "Literacy Through the Airwaves" has demonstrated the potential of radio for future development in many diverse ways. That being said, this form of literacy promotion will not replace the existing service of one to one and group tuition but rather will be seen as supplementary.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his decision to develop literacy through television. He is requiring that television programmes deliver tuition directly to people with a range of literacy difficulties. An important advantage of this type of approach will be to raise awareness of the extent of the problem while at the same time honouring the integrity of the potential of students. I welcome the decision to produce an initial television programme with an editorial team to ensure the highest possible standards of programme and production values and the fact that, if proved successful, there will be a series of 12 programmes.

I want to return briefly to the link between literacy skills and unemployment. I welcome the Government's determination to break this link. I understand an interdepartmental working group on literacy for the unemployed has been established. Its brief is to draw up recommendations for the delivery of a targeted service that will address the needs of the unemployed. Research and surveys have clearly demonstrated that education and literacy can make a major difference to a person's chances in life. The longer a person spends in education, the better his earning prospects. It can make the difference between inclusion and exclusion.

The national development plan clearly defines objectives regarding education and training in order to facilitate the promotion of opportunities so that every individual can attain an adequate level of literacy and numeracy. Underpinning the approach of the Government is the use of education as a tool to fight poverty. In addition to the £73.8 million in the plan which will be allocated to adult literacy development, £1,027 million is being allocated to programmes such as Youthreach, VTOS and PLC courses. There is also provision in the plan for an expansion of part-time and more flexible programmes on a modular basis, an approach which has been met with the utmost praise from practitioners in the field who are delivering the service. In this way, people with minimal or no educational qualifications are targeted, as well as those who need to upgrade their skills.

Another concept which comes to mind is literacy through leisure. As has been stated repeatedly, the stigma of illiteracy, while not as acute, continues to be an inhibiting factor to participation in education by both young and old, men and women. There are many imaginative and sensitive programmes outside the school environment which can be developed. With literacy through leisure, for example, a literacy programme could be coupled with a hobby such as photography. No prior experience or knowledge would be required. A programme of literacy through horticulture might appeal to others, and I am sure many men and women would be very happy to take part in a programme of literacy through cookery. These are just three of many examples of areas where literacy through leisure can be promoted in a highly sensitive and equally effective way.

Outreach strategies will have to be devised to make contact with excluded groups. This means we will have to rethink the concept of the school as a place of learning. Traditionally the school was seen as a building in which education took place. As the Green Paper so aptly promotes adult education in an era of life long learning, we will have to consider the workplace as one of the schools of the future. On-the-job learning will have to be embraced as a relevant strategy to address the literacy needs of workers. Workplaces are full of people who do the most menial jobs which are suited to people starting employment and who are totally unskilled. However, some people spend all their lives in such jobs, not because they want to – they want to be promoted – but because they are afraid to try for promotion because of literacy problems and the huge psychological problems associated with them. This issue must be addressed. It is not necessary to devise programmes of education or literacy in the workplace; rather programmes of promotion should be devised.

The back to education initiative has much to commend it. The Green Paper acknowledges that because of the numbers who have not had second level education it is not possible to consider it as a once-off initiative in terms of public expenditure. However, groups have been prioritised and these need to be addressed. Access for persons with disabilities is a must. We know the physical environment is changing rapidly to accommodate access and a guarantee of transport must be a priority.

There is little doubt but that the Green Paper on adult education will be regarded as a milestone in our development in this area. It asks what mass literacy is all about. As we approach the next millennium Ireland stands on the threshold of a new era of lifelong learning.

Mr. McDonagh

I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his endeavours in the area of adult education. One of the biggest problems facing us concerns literacy and adult education. One in four of our adult population has literacy difficulties, a frightening statistic. Ireland has one of the worst records in the developed world when it comes to providing second chance adult education. This terrible situation can have startling repercussions, with 500,000 of our people being denied the benefits, pleasures and role in society brought about by full literacy and numeracy.

Unfortunately, many of those with literacy problems are young people who will enter the labour market where there is already a shortage of skilled labour. Literacy and numeracy are vital in terms of the labour market and it is incumbent on the Government and on us to devote far more thought and resources to literacy. We cannot afford to allow young people leave school illiterate. It is vital that we provide systematic and increased investment in the education and training of the unemployed and adults who wish to enter the workforce.

The current statistics which are emerging have shattered our image of ourselves as a well educated and newly industrialised nation. However, we must not bury our heads in the sand. Rather we must face up to the situation and endeavour to include all society in the rewards which ensue from the Celtic tiger. No doubt many of these rewards will be manifest in tomorrow's budget, which I hope does not forget the issue of literacy.

I am sure the Minister is very familiar with the VTOS programme for people who wish to return to the workplace and with the Youthreach programme. I am very familiar with the workings of both of these valuable programmes which have made an enormous contribution in this area. They must be strengthened and provided with further resources.

I understand there are 107 literacy schemes which provide tuition for adults, mostly on a one-to-one basis. Over 85 per cent of tuition on these schemes is provided by volunteers, the fulcrum on which literacy provision in the country is balanced. Up to now the adult budget has been insufficient which has meant that adults can only access approximately two hours of tuition per week. The role of adult education seems to be gaining momentum with the recently published Green Paper and the welcome increase in the adult literacy budget. However, funding should be made available for more intense literacy programmes. Investment in literacy education will be cost effective in economic terms as well as crucial to the development of a just society. I welcome the recent announcement that television will be used in the promotion of literacy. I appeal to the Minister to examine also the use of local radio in this regard. Currently the great means of communication in Ireland is local radio, with most people listening to it.

As a nation that once prided itself as one of saints and scholars, we must address the major issue of inadequate literacy provision. In so doing proper and adequate funding must be available for literacy providers. I reiterate that the bulk of our literacy provision relies on voluntary tutors, which is no longer fair or good enough. These people who give their time generously and unselfishly must be rewarded in some way. The only way to do this is by providing proper in-service courses which will bring them up to date with the modern trends and techniques in the provision of literacy.

If the Government is really serious about this major problem it must provide funding to allow each VEC employ full-time literacy organisers. This would be the first real test of the Government's commitment to the problem. Literacy organisers are a vital and integral part of any literacy scheme. Currently there are insufficient literacy providers and I understand that the salary for providers is in the region of £12,000 for 35 hours per week. This is insufficient when equated with a rate of £17 per hour for part-time teachers and I would like the Minister to examine this area. The time has come for the employment of full-time literacy organisers in every county. People directly involved in literacy and the provision of adult education must also be given a seat at the table of power and decision making, namely, on vocational education committees and adult education boards. I have already raised this issue in the House in the context of the education Bill. As somebody involved in adult education, I can honestly say that literacy is a vital component of all vocational education committees. I again appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, to ensure that adult education organisers are given a place on vocational education committees when the new education legislation is enacted, hopefully in the new year. The providers are the people with the expertise and they must be recognised and allowed to take their places on VECs and adult education boards. If the problem of literacy is to be tackled and overcome, the people involved must be at the top table.

I attended an in-service conference for VEC people under the auspices of County Galway VEC at Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre. I heard Mr. Ernie Sweeney speak at the conference. He is well known as the man who ensured the photographs of candidates were on the ballot papers in the recent European Parliament elections. He spoke of the darkness he encountered for 28 years. At the age of 28, following assistance from an old man with whom he used to walk on the seashore and through the fields around Castlebar, he found that window of wonder which gave his world so much that was new and wonderful. One would have had to have heard him speak to realise how important are literacy and numeracy.

This is an important subject. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, who is committed to this subject and has published a Green Paper which will lead ultimately to a White Paper. If we are to tackle the problem, I appeal to him to ensure the representation of providers on a task force to examine the problem. I am familiar with the organisations which have done so much for literacy, such as NALA and AONTAS. The adult education organisers, the people at the coalface who provide tuition and organise literacy schemes, should be called upon. As someone involved in this area, I know these people have not been given the recognition they deserve and are not being called upon to become involved in devising the strategy for the provision of something which is very important.

I welcome this important debate. I wish the Minister of State well in his endeavours. He is doing well so far. I hope he will bring the providers on stream, especially the adult education organisers who are involved in every VEC – there are about 40 in the country at present. Literacy organisers work under their remit and there are voluntary tutors working to them in turn. They are the lead people, the fulcrum around which literacy provision revolves, but they are not being utilised or being called upon. They are available to make their point and to speak up. If called upon, their contribution will be invaluable. Their involvement will result in our having a better system for the provision of literacy and numeracy tuition.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this vital debate. I hope as we enter the new millennium, those windows of opportunity of which I spoke will open for the many people for whom they have not yet opened. I work as an adult education organiser and have been involved in the education system as a teacher for many years, and one must work in this field to see how difficult it is. As public representatives, we know the difficulties with literacy and numeracy of many people who come to our clinics. It is wonderful that we are addressing the situation. It is to be hoped that as a result of this a new opportunity will dawn in the new millennium for everyone, that we will cherish equally the children of this great nation and that literacy and numeracy will become part and parcel of the everyday lives of every person in this country, which was once recognised as the island of saints and scholars.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Mr. O'Dea)

I thank everyone for their constructive contributions and helpful suggestions. Some of the suggestions are more appropriate to the Minister, Deputy Martin, and I will pass them on to him. I will consider carefully those suggestions about which I can do something. I thank Senators for their constructive comments in what has been a useful debate.

Acting Chairman (Mr. Farrell)

When is it proposed to sit again?

Ms Ormonde

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

The Seanad adjourned at 6.35 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 1 December 1999.