Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2006
135 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Science if she will ensure the creation of a separate sufficient budget dedicated to the provision of ESOL in order that the budget for adult literacy will be directed fully towards its intended purpose. [25805/06]
View answerMy Department funds the provision of adult literacy, which is delivered by the Vocational Education Committees, from the annual Adult Literacy and Community Education (ALCES) grant to VECs. This includes literacy and the teaching of English to non-Irish nationals.
Funding for adult literacy has been increased incrementally in recent years from just under €1 million in 1997 to over €23 million this year. Client numbers rose from 5,000 in 1997 to over 35,000 in 2005.
The increase in funding has enabled the introduction of special programmes targeted at groups with particular literacy needs. This includes non-Irish nationals whose first language is not English. In 2005, almost 10,000 clients, 27% of adult literacy clients, attended English for Speakers as Other Language (ESOL) courses.
The White Paper stated that asylum seekers would be entitled to free access to Adult Literacy, English language and mother culture supports and refugees are entitled to the same access to education and training as Irish nationals.
As the number of ESOL clients continues to increase, concerns have been expressed that displacement of indigenous adult literacy students may occur. In order to address these and other concerns which have been raised in relation to ESOL provision, my Department with the Reception and Integration Agency arranged a seminar with key stakeholders on ESOL in May 2006 to discuss the needs of ESOL learners. The findings of this seminar are currently being The language needs of migrants formed part of the negotiations between the social partners in drawing up the new social partnership draft agreement "Towards 2016". A prioritised action included in the agreement is that there will be a particular focus on increasing the number of migrants receiving an English language service.
I have no plans currently to provide a separate funding line as I consider it more appropriate to allow VECs the discretion within their overall literacy budgets to allocate available resources in the light of local demand.
