Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 14 May 1992

Vol. 419 No. 7

Written Answers. - Adult Literacy Statistics.

Jim O'Keeffe

Ceist:

73 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education the percentage of Irish adults estimated as being functionally illiterate; whether it is correct that the Irish figure is considered to be twice the estimated figure for the European Community; if so, if he will outline the reason for this, the amount of funding being made available to tackle the problem and in particular the support available to the voluntary adult literacy groups who are functioning in the various communities throughout the country; and whether he considers such support to be adequate in the light of the extent of the problem.

Minister for Education (Mr. S. Brennan)

As I indicated in a reply to a recent parliamentary question, there is an acknowledged problem of adult illiteracy, in particular, that of functional illiteracy, in all developed countries. There is no evidence to show that the position in Ireland differs significantly from that in other member states in the European Community.

Because of the nature of literacy skills there are considerable technical difficulties in estimating the level of illiteracy in any country at any particular time. There are no official estimates of the incidence of illiteracy in Ireland.

Addressing literacy problems is an element of general education and training programme and of programmes provided by grant-aided voluntary organisations. In addition my Department's Adult Literacy and Community Education Scheme is a specific programme which is aimed at combating adult literacy. The provision in 1992 for the ongoing services provided under this scheme is £1 million. A further £290,000 is being provided under this scheme for special initiatives for disadvantaged adults, including literacy. An amount of £77,000 is being provided for the National Adult Literacy Agency. It is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the literacy elements in the other programmes I have mentioned.

My Department recognises the problem of adult literacy and is committed to taking the necessary action. As I previously indicated, I shall be announcing new initiatives in this area in the forthcoming Green Paper.