Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

He opened it and it was a wonderful experience. As somebody who is barely able to use an iPhone, it was great to see the dedication of the people. What impressed me most was that people did a lot of work on a voluntary basis and found themselves going back into the workforce through a different channel.

I left school at 14 years of age, and was barely able to read or write. One disadvantage I had when I first came to the House was that I did not have an education like many others here had. It took me a while to clue into what was going on. Legislation is written for lawyers, solicitors and barristers. I found that very difficult, and still do.

The ability to read and write is the most important thing in any child's life. The committee knows the inner city well. Children still leave school without the skills to read and write.

Many of them leave school at a very early age when they should not be leaving. I have a beautiful four year old granddaughter and her pen is an iPad. My phone is her way of reading and writing. I think this is amazing but we need to ensure there is a balance. We still need to teach people to be able to read, to write and to count. Any night on the Luas one can see people reading a book on their Kindle. There has to be a balance. I have come a long way from an inkwell and a dipping pen. I have very nice handwriting but I think I inherited that from my dad.