Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

——how we are doing and what we are achieving.

I welcome the White Paper on Adult Education's extension of the remit of adult literacy services to cover asylum seekers. Significant pressure is placed on those services because many non-English speaking individuals try to access the courses. As it is estimated that 27% of adult literacy learners are non-English speakers, we must develop a clear policy.

I commend the Government and statutory bodies on their roles in promoting adult literacy. For example, An Post sponsored a television and cinema campaign that promoted adult literacy, featuring people who went through and benefited from the programmes in question. Adult literacy courses will attract considerable interest from those who may have previously been reluctant to take up such offers. This will put pressure on the services but we must continue to provide sufficient resources to meet need, as stated on the other side of the House.

It is important to continue upskilling workers. Conditions within certain sectors of the economy are changing significantly. For example, the construction industry experienced a good decade, but circumstances are changing. Some individuals may seek to upskill and move into different sectors. We must give people the opportunity to upskill and undergo appropriate training.

I welcome the elimination of back to education fees in respect of participants with a junior certificate education or lower. If they are part-time workers, they can avail of the back to education initiative without paying fees, which is a positive development.

Unlike 15 other EU countries examined, Ireland has no statutory entitlement to paid educational leave. We should consider this matter. Other European countries have successful upskilling programmes and are good at keeping workers' skills updated. We must examine policies that have worked elsewhere. As a developed economy, Ireland should consider a statutory entitlement to paid educational leave.

Computer and information technology skills have become prerequisites for most forms of employment. Often people who start with functional literacy problems have difficulty acquiring computer and information technology skills. The Government should place considerable emphasis on this matter to ensure all workers develop basic computer skills, an essential requirement in the workplace regardless of the job. More resources should be targeted in this respect.

I congratulate the Government on its approach to lifelong learning and I look forward to further improvements.