Ms Elizabeth Waters:

I am chief executive of probably one of the biggest community education initiatives in the country. An Cosán developed in and is located in the community of Tallaght west, but now we have regional and national reach through our fledglings early years services and our virtual community college.

I have been a community education practitioner for over 25 years. I am passionate and I know that education is the only fast-track out of poverty and social exclusion. Educational underachievement is absolutely linked with intergenerational unemployment, poor health and well-being, multiple addictions, mental health issues, homelessness and suicide. These are the outcomes. It takes really resilient creative communities focused on personal and social change to challenge the underlying inequality and disadvantage and to turn that tide. Community education is such a process. Community education is adult education in a particular context. It intersects educational disadvantage, unemployment, social welfare, dependency and poverty. Community education is a community-led educational model. It reflects and values the lived experience of individuals and their communities. It is grounded on principles of justice, equality and inclusiveness. It absolutely results in wide-ranging positive outcomes for individuals and their communities and for society as a whole. For the past 30 years, An Cosán in Tallaght west has facilitated over 16,000 learners to move from basic education to further education and right through to degree level with extremely successful outcomes in terms of access to employment.

Those of us in An Cosán have learned what we call the one-generation solution. If we educate a young woman who is a lone-parent to degree level, she will earn 40% more than her colleagues who have no degrees and she will exit poverty with her children forever. That is one of the most significant issues. The ESRI produced a report last week on the issue of lone parents and the impact of poverty in their lives. Some 23% or one third of lone parents are in consistent poverty.

Community education does not focus on equality of opportunity but on equality of outcomes. It really seeks to put in place all of the supports that are needed to ensure equality of outcomes.

My experience working in prisons and working with homeless young women and with a wide range of marginalised groups has taught me to see the impact where those issues are not resolved. At best we have long-term unemployment but there is also addition and anti-social behaviour and in Tallaght we are constantly faced by the outcome of suicide.

I see the impact on the lives of individuals who have engaged in second-chance education, either through their own determination and courage or perhaps with a gentle nudge from engaged practitioners and organisations like An Cosán. I am here today to advocate for all involved in community education. We work successfully with those on the margins. As a result, we are also marginalised. Everyone knows that we get the crumbs from the educational table - I do not think anyone would debate the point. We are sitting here today discussing the same issues that I talked about 30 years ago. I do not understand why we do not have the long-term vision to know that targeted investment will give us the results we require. I am here to recognise the power of community education and to recognise it as a sector by itself that really impacts on social disadvantage. We need the resources to do that.