Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if, in the view of the fact that most Vocational Educational Colleges committees do not have the resources or structures to fund community groups involved in the teaching of English, she has plans to provide grant assistance to community and voluntary groups who are providing English language classes to new immigrants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8018/07]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Adult and Further Education services are funded by my Department and delivered locally by the Vocational Education Committees (VECs). Any grant assistance from my Department to community or voluntary groups for English language classes must be channelled through VECs.

The White Paper on Adult Education "Learning for Life" (2000) stated that asylum seekers would be entitled to free access to Adult Literacy, English language and mother culture supports and refugees are entitled to the same access to education and training as Irish nationals.

My Department gives an annual grant to all VECs for the provision of Adult Literacy and Community Education. This fund may be used for the teaching of English to immigrants.

The cost of the literacy service delivered by VECs, which was funded by my Department, was over €23 million in 2006. The number of students was over 35,000. 27% of these, amounting to 10,000 clients, attended English for Speakers as Other Language (ESOL) courses.

The language needs of migrants formed part of the negotiations between social partners in drawing up the new social partnership agreement "Towards 2016". A prioritised action included in the agreement is that the annual student cohort availing of the general national literacy service delivered by the Vocational Education Committees will be significantly increased by the provision of an extra 7,000 places by 2009, 3,000 of which will be provided this year. Under the terms of the agreement, there will be a particular focus on the increasing number of migrants receiving an English language service (ESOL).