Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

We cannot speak of the provision of adult education without speaking about supports. We must facilitate people in getting true access by providing such supports. One of the main supports is child care. The Minister of State has spoken on this in detail. This Government acts and funds child care mainly through the back to education initiative, the vocational training opportunities scheme, VTOS and especially the equal opportunities child care programme.

Real inclusive education, particularly for people with disabilities of both of a physical and learning type, and anybody else excluded from the mainstream — as hundreds of thousands have been since the foundation of the State — calls for a recognition that access is not just physical access for people going into buildings. Curricular access is every bit as important as physical access. In a way it is cruel to invite somebody into an educational establishment where there is physical access, but a blind person would not have Braille materials. This sums up my point.

The Government recognises the supports that people need for specific disabilities. It is putting such supports in place, and the Minister of State has today given many examples of this. I will go back over only one or two of these later. These supports exist so that everybody is on the same level playing pitch. This issue concerns equality of access and esteem.

The Minister of State has pointed out many important initiatives. I will refer to some. I cannot proceed without referring to the VTOS. It targets people who are long-term unemployed and in receipt of social welfare payments. These people can now access full-time education free of charge without losing social welfare or secondary benefits. There are 5,000 people nationally accessing this and moving on. They are not only finishing their secondary VTOS training but going on to third level, becoming professionals and contributing significantly to the economic prosperity of the country. I wonder in what country is Senator Ulick Burke living.

Another important initiative is the community education programmes. These are free of charge and operate in 33 VECs around the country, providing a huge range of education across the board, again empowering people to participate in society. I cannot skip the adult literacy programmes either, as they are famous, not only in Ireland but internationally, for the wonderful work done in teaching people to read and write. They enable people to become visible in society. If a person cannot read and write in today's literate world, that person will disappear.

Traveller training centres also do a wonderful job. They promote an inclusive education for those who are outside mainstream education and have been since before the foundation of the State. These people are now being targeted for education. Although it would be a wonderful experience, there are significant challenges. From speaking to teachers involved in the area, I am aware of the challenges, particularly the inter-generational issue of bringing members of the Traveller community into mainstream education. Other challenging issues include culture and other matters. I am friendly with many teachers involved in this initiative and they will speak to me on the roadblocks which are there. I will not speak on them now, but I will mention the issue to the Minister of State again.

The Youthreach programmes target young people whom the secondary education system has failed. We must look at education within the context of local development generally. However, we cannot speak of local development, leading to national development, without including lifelong learning. It is at the centre of this continuum.

Education must be at the heart of any development programme. In recognising the involvement of education, the participation of partners must also be recognised. This comes back to partnership. There are many partners, and the holistic approach is the only way forward. We have cast away the segregated and fragmented sectors to which Senator Ulick Burke wishes to return. We have rid ourselves of silos and we now look at education in terms of its full potential and how it can make a holistic impact.

It may not be fair to single out an issue, but I wish to highlight the back to education initiative. This affords people who have left the upper second level of education a chance to return and make up the deficit in their education. It targets people who may have worked in the home all their lives, who have left school at 14 years of age to take up an apprenticeship that is now obsolete, people who have the group certificate or those, like myself, with the old primary certificate. These people may have a good level of skill, but it is no longer needed.

This initiative recognises the prior experience and learning of these people. It offers accreditation for the wealth of knowledge that was not recognised until now, when the Government and its immediate predecessor came into office. I commend the Minister for giving €17 million this year to the area. It is a glowing tribute of her achievements. Rather than denigrate and denounce the Minister, as has been done by the previous speaker, I commend and salute the Minister for what she has achieved.

These initiatives go hand in hand with accreditation. The importance of such accreditation must not be underestimated and it can never be overstated. Unless a paper indicating an accreditation is in a person's hand now, in an Ireland full of graduates walking around with degrees, masters degrees and doctorates, that person is going nowhere. He or she would still be at an educational disadvantage. I commend the manner in which the Minister of State and her colleagues in Government have brought forward accreditation. It is a shining example of the projection of the vision of the Minister of State and the Government.

Ireland in 2006 is different to the Ireland of 1997, which this Government and its immediate predecessor inherited on coming into office. There has been a major influx of people coming to Ireland to look for a better life and the challenge for the Government is to grasp the opportunity to enable them to integrate and contribute to the economy. They are doing what many of our forefathers did in the 1920s and 1930s in Great Britain, America, Australia and elsewhere. Many of them came from high mountains, deep valleys and poor bogs and they had to take the hard road when they went abroad. They found it hard to integrate in their new homelands and were often ghettoised.

We have a golden opportunity as the educational structures and supports are in place to make it a little easier for our new Irish citizens of the 21st century. If we empower them through education they will make their contribution to society both culturally and financially. By doing that we are changing a challenge into an opportunity. I know the Minister of State has a deep conviction about this approach and is most supportive of it. I am inordinately proud of the fact that this year's leaving certificate exams were available in 22 languages. For the first time, students had the opportunity to be tested in their mother tongue in curricular and non-curricular areas. This was a magic moment in Ireland's celebration of its recent new diversity.

As we acknowledge the past and celebrate current achievements, our new challenge is to build on the structures we have provided. We must create an environment where adult education is part and parcel of everyday education and, as stated by other speakers, is not segregated and sidelined. Currently, 98% of teachers involved in adult education are working on a part-time basis and this simply cannot continue. If we are to keep the expertise and the wonderful skill base that the Minister of State and her predecessors have promoted and built up in this area, we must value these teachers equally with staff in other educational sectors. All are constituent parts of the continuum that is lifelong learning. There must be equality of esteem, and if there is anything less we will not succeed. We have a wonderful resource and we must nurture it and build on it because if we do not,these valuable people will go elsewhere. If we do this, I believe the future of adult education is assured.

One of the most important supports provided by the Minister of State in recent years was the setting up of an adult guidance support service. This is a revolutionary concept. I have found nothing on a par with it elsewhere in the world. People do not have to flounder around any more not knowing what to do. Professional advice is available to guide people and enable them to make decisions for themselves. In other words, those involved in guidance are walking along the journey with us. Educational experience is a lifelong journey from poverty, inadequacy and heartbreak. In many cases it has transformed people's lives and ensured success and a happy life for generations to come.

Mar fhocal scoir, is fearr beagán cúnaimh ná mórán trua, which simply translates as, a little help is better than a lot of pity, and the Minister of State is providing that help.