Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of literacy tutors working in each of the State's prisons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9059/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Literacy work has been a strong element of the Prison Education curriculum since the early 1980's. The literacy curriculum concentrates on the needs of the individual and respects the adult status of the student, his/her prior knowledge, skills and life experience. It is also concerned with improving self-esteem and building confidence.

During the academic year 2007/08, the Department of Education and Science has provided an allocation of 220 whole-time teacher equivalents to the prisons.

An Adult Basic Education Development Worker is employed with specific responsibility for implementing and supporting developments and initiatives in the area of literacy, numeracy, English for speakers of other languages and basic education. Because of the literacy deficit of the prisoner population, literacy work forms an element of more than just the timetabled literacy classes. All teachers are aware of the literacy needs and these are dealt with as part of the general coursework of prisoners. This is a very effective method of linking the literacy learning programme of prisoners to an area they can engage with and is widely used in adult education.

The Irish Prison Service is implementing the new assessment framework devised by the National Adult Literacy Agency; "Mapping the Learning Journey", an assessment framework that identifies learner progress, provides tangible feedback and indicates areas on which to focus. It is a useful tool for both learning and teaching.

Progress has been made linking the education and training needs of prisoners since 2003, with the literacy action plan prepared by the prison education unit of each prison becoming one vehicle for integrating the efforts of the education and training sectors in prisons. Peer tutoring, promoting family literacy and developing post-release support for prisoners who undertake literacy tuition in prison are also promoted by the Prison Education staff wherever feasible.

Each student coming into the Prison Education Centre will have an individual interview to assess his/her educational needs and interests. Those with literacy difficulties are prioritised and slotted into class almost immediately. Every effort is made to publicise literacy classes and encourage as many prisoners as possible to avail of classes.