Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 23:

In page 7, subsection (1)(h), lines 43 to 46, to delete all words from and including “including” in line 43 down to and including “purpose” in line 46 and substitute the following:“designed to respond to the broad range of needs of learners whether they are on the Live Register or not, including social, cultural and civic development as well as vocational skills”.

The Bill makes no reference to adult literacy and numeracy development. This is a unique opportunity within the current reform of the further education and training to legislate for raising adult literacy and numeracy levels and to reduce or eliminate the huge social, economic and personal costs associated with low literacy levels. Adult literacy was first enshrined in Government policy with the publication of a White Paper on adult education in 2000. The participation in and targets of the new approach to adult literacy outlined in that paper were largely successful. We want to see the creation of an adult literacy and numeracy strategy which would link with the national literacy and numeracy strategy for children and young people to create for the first time a comprehensive and joined-up national approach to literacy and numeracy development for all ages. Based on the submissions we all received, literacy and numeracy development is a key component of the education structure. It is an appropriate time, as part of the reform of further education and training, to legislate for it and set ourselves a strategy and clear targets we have to achieve. Any strategy is only measurable if one has targets which one can measure against. It is an ideal opportunity and it is in that light that we made a number of amendments in this regard.