Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Every day is a school day in here. I can certainly agree with that. Any day you do not learn something new is both a rare and a disappointing day. Intergenerational learning is also really important. I have seen good examples of this in community education and further education. Young people pass on their skills, which are often skills in technology, to older people while older people pass on the life skills and expertise they have garnered. It creates the culture of respect that is so important in our communities and in our country. However, we do need to do more on this. I will be very clear on that. The pace of digital change in particular means that older people can sometimes feel they are locked out of participation in society. That cannot be the way. We have free courses, a number of initiatives, a literacy strategy, a digital literacy strategy and a skills to advance strategy. In the first instance, we need to get the message out that education is for everyone at every age. We then need to significantly signpost and listen to older people as to how we can make education more accessible.

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