David Norris (Independent)

I am pleased to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, to the House. I am saddened this may be her last official visit to the House, and it is appropriate that we should bid her farewell. I did not expect the discussion to involve a ministerial lap of honour but I am happy to join in the encomia so elaborately laid before the House by my colleague, Senator Fitzgerald. I was operating under a slight misapprehension in that I understood this debate would encompass a discussion of third level education. I believe other Members were under the same misapprehension given we on this side of the House have been calling for a debate on further education, including third level education, for some time.

Adult literacy is an important issue and I am obliged to put in a good word in this regard for the university I represent. Trinity College has done much work in this area and many decent and idealistic young people have given up their own time to become involved in the scheme it operates. I salute them and their counterparts in other third level institutions. We often hear about the problems young people face and the difficulties they cause, including those relating to addiction to drugs and alcohol. There are, however, many decent young people who are prepared to offer their assistance to adult literacy schemes and similar endeavours.

I will allow myself a certain lightness of touch in recalling an incident in this House some time ago. A colleague stood up one day on the Order of Business and stated his great concern at the high levels of adult literacy in the State. I believe he intended to refer to illiteracy. He spoke passionately, however, about how dreadful were the high rates of adult literacy. I interjected to say that I could not agree more and that as we spoke, people all over the country were reading. I observed that if this was not stamped out, they would soon be writing as well. This was where Catholic emancipation inevitably led. The entire paragraph was omitted from the Official Report because the reporters believed it was too cruel. It is heartening for the people of Ireland to know there are cruelty police on the prowl to ensure we do not savage each other to death in this hallowed institution.

I welcome the Minister of State's indication, in a pleasing and appropriate final flourish, that she has managed to increase by 50% funding in the areas of adult and further education. We should not be carping in our response by pointing out that this should have been done five years ago. It is being done now and that is what counts. We should look forward and not always be cursed with the backward look that is habitual in Ireland. Let us be positive instead.

There are significant problems in terms of education in the area in which I live. The Central Model School in Marlborough Street operates a wonderful scheme for inner city children who may come from a background that is not saturated in culture and educational achievement. Anybody would be proud to have those children in their community. This school's achievements are a result of the Breaking the Cycle programme, which is one of the most positive developments in this State. I used to bewail the fact that these children were given a glimpse of the promised land before it was snatched away from them. That is no longer the case and I am told a high proportion of them go on to attend Larkin Community College. Some have even gone on to third level education. That is the way of the future and it is the approach this humane Minister of State has attempted to foster.

There is a problem in regard to drop-out rates, particularly in disadvantaged areas. I have some concerns about the school inspection scheme. When I was in school, attendance monitors ensured that the parents of any child who left school early received a visit in their homes. This does not seem to happen very often now. It is an old-fashioned concept but it should be reviewed.

The Minister of State referred to the 28 recommendations in the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science on adult literacy. It would be helpful to know how many of these recommendations are being implemented. The Minister of State referred to one of them, the intensive programme of basic education for adults experiencing literacy and numeracy skills deficiencies, which was piloted last spring through all 33 VECs. She observed that this initiative is a response to recommendation No. 13. I hope that will not prove to be an unlucky number. It is helpful to hear in detail how this recommendation is being implemented and it would be useful to discover what is being done in regard to the other 27.

The Minister of State told us that 10,000 students avail of tuition in English under the English for speakers of other languages programme. This indicates the way in which the State is changing. It is vitally important that people are assisted in becoming proficient in the language of their host country. A deficiency in this regard causes incalculable difficulties and misunderstandings, and it is a basic right that people should have the skills to participate in society. I am confident this will be done in a positive and sensitive way.

One can only imagine the ingenuity in which people who are ashamed of their lack of literacy and numeracy skills must engage to conceal their difficulties. The Minister of State has tried to remove the stigma attached to the inability to read, write or calculate without difficulty. Persons with such difficulties may be at an even greater disadvantage than those who arrive here without language skills but may be able to acquire them easily enough.

The experience of a person with literacy and numeracy difficulties must be akin to being dumped in Japan and trying to get on the railway system. People who have been there speak about what a horrendous experience it is because all of the timetables and signs are in Japanese. It is a major culture shock. We must imaginatively take on board the reality that for people with these difficulties in reading and writing, living in their own country is similar to the experience of others of their fellows being dropped in a Japanese railway station and trying to make their way from Tokyo to one of its suburbs.

I agree with the Minister of State that the Youthreach programmes are excellent. They operate on a ground-floor level and in the areas of communities where they are most required. I have one concern, however, and I hope the Minister of State will bring it to the attention of the appropriate persons. A Youthreach centre is located at No. 20, North Great George's Street, in my own neighbourhood. I cannot speak highly enough of the work done by the organisers of the programme, who are positive members of the community.

That was not always the case, however. Under a previous dispensation, they were responsible for an appalling series of acts of vandalism, including the destruction of one of the few remaining 18th century gardens in the north inner city and all this property's beautiful gothic outbuildings. I support the work they do and will continue to do so in any context. I know the people concerned and see that the programme gives the children who participate a beacon of hope in the midst of the difficulties in which they live. I wonder, however, whether this is the most appropriate building in which to conduct this valuable work. It still has some of the most beautiful craft work ceilings in Dublin. It is a listed heritage building. While I accept its current tenants are much more sensitive to their cultural environment, it would be much better if they had a more appropriate place in the area. I am honoured to be a neighbour of the Youthreach programme but I think what a waste for people to engage in, say, wood-turning under ceilings such as the one in this Chamber. A more appropriate function could be found for the building, while the Youthreach programme continues its very valuable work elsewhere.

I will get into trouble for my comments on the cost of child care support. We hear so much about child care that I am beginning to get tired of the subject, although I understand it is important in further education. However, with the universal clamour for child care, why do people have children if they do not want to look after them? One of the many things I like about women is that they do not think in the tight little sequences or along narrow straight lines as men do.