Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his leadership and many years of work on the issue, about which I feel very passionate. One of the reasons for people not knowing about it is the institutionalised stigma that exists. We talk about destigmatising illiteracy and the likes, as we should, but we as leaders are not talking about it enough because we are rightly busy promoting our country as being a knowledge-based economy. We ask companies to come and invest in Ireland because we have a great workforce. While all that is true, it should not take away from the fact that a significant number of people are being locked out of economic and social inclusion. The Deputy knows as well as I do about the intergenerational effect of it.

In the first instance I am determined to use the role I am honoured to hold to support initiatives. For example, I recently spoke at a graduation ceremony in Portlaoise Prison for six students who had trained as literacy tutors. Not only had they tackled their own literacy issues, they will now tutor other people in the prison. I had a very good meeting with representatives of the Irish Prison Service and others about the intergenerational deprivation that often results in somebody ending up in prison. Whatever about the person in prison today, how can we ensure we get to his or her children at home to provide them with the gift of educational literacy to break the cycle of deprivation?

Tomorrow the National Adult Literacy Agency, NALA, and others will launch the consultation for our adult literacy, numeracy and digital skills strategy. I will send details of that to the Deputy. Obviously, a literacy consultation needs to be inclusive. It cannot just be sticking something up on a website, which would be utterly ironic. We need work out how to take it on a Covid-safe roadshow to engage with all our communities and organisations. I will be relying on and I know I will receive the Deputy's help and support in that regard.

SOLAS has about five or six months to come back with our literacy strategy. That will be a big piece of work for it to deliver in 2021. I am very encouraged by the group of people working across Departments on this. They are passionate and committed, as is NALA. Much of this is us talking about it and encouraging other people to talk about it and to know that people are not alone in having literacy issues. As NALA explained to me, literacy is not like riding a bike, it is like a muscle that needs constant exercise. I look forward to working with the Deputy on it.