Written answers
Tuesday, 11 October 2005
Department of Education and Science
Languages Programme
9:00 pm
Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will provide a separate budget for the teaching of English to non-nationals which is currently being provided under the vocational education committee's adult education budgets in view of increasing demand in this sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27673/05]
Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department funds the provision of adult literacy, which is delivered, by the vocational education committees from the adult literacy and community education, ALCES, budget. This includes literacy to non-nationals.
The national development plan committed â¬93.5 million to the service in the period 2000 to 2006, with a target of reaching 113,000 clients over that period. This target will be met.
Funding for adult literacy has been increased incrementally in recent years from just under â¬1 million in 1997 to more than â¬22 million this year. Client numbers rose in the same period from 5,000 in 1997 to more than 33,000 in 2004.
The increase in funding has also enabled the introduction of special programmes targeted at groups with particular literacy needs. This includes non-nationals whose first language is not English. In 2004, 7,800 of the clients were non-national. The VECs have ensured that the level of tuition provided covers FETAC level 1 and 2 only. Asylum seekers are entitled to literacy and English language supports, other EU nationals and non-EU nationals can be offered literacy provision on the basis of need and available resources.
I have no plans to provide a separate funding line as I consider it more appropriate to allow VECs the discretion within their overall budgets to allocate available resources in the light of local demand.
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