Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 9: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that 25% of the Irish working population lack functional literacy skills; his plans to introduce a robust programme to eradicate literacy problems in the workplace; the specific target dates for the incremental eradication of these literacy problems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15625/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In 1997 the OECD published the findings of its international adult survey. That survey, which was conducted in 1995, provided a profile of the literacy skills of adults in Ireland aged between 16 and 64. According to the survey, almost 25% of the Irish workforce lacked functional literacy skills.

Since the publication of the OECD survey, the Government has committed substantial resources to tackling the problem of adult literacy. For instance, the provision in the education sector for adult literacy increased from a base of €1 million in 1997 to €33 million this year. That substantial increase in resources will allow more than 38,000 adults this year to be catered for in literacy training programmes, compared with just 5,000 in 1997.

FÁS, for its part, is implementing several programmes to address literacy issues. Those include the workplace basic education fund, community employment literacy programmes and the literacy programmes for community training centres, justice workshops and local training initiatives.

The workplace basic education fund aims to have more than 3,000 registered learners from 2005 to 2007. To help it achieve that, its budget increased from €2 million in 2006 to €3 million in 2007.

There are currently 46 FÁS-VEC community employment literacy programmes, and those are being extended to all regions. Those programmes enable participants on FÁS-funded community employment schemes to be released half-time from their work experience programme to avail themselves of intensive literacy tuition provided by the VECs.

FÁS and the National Adult Literacy Agency, NALA, have been collaborating since 1999 on a literacy strategy for community training centres, CTCs, justice workshops and local training initiatives, LTIs, to address the literacy development needs of early school-leavers and adults. The strategy aims to integrate literacy support and development into all aspects of vocational training programmes.