Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 601: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the rate of illiteracy amongst under 25 years; the number of persons under 25 years who are illiterate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7823/10]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The current rate of illiteracy amongst those under 25 years of age or the number of persons under 25 years of age who are illiterate is not available. In 1995, Ireland participated in an international literacy survey of adults conducted by the OECD. Published in 1997, the survey found that approximately 25% of Irish adults between 16 and 64 years old were at the lowest literacy level (Level One). These are the most recent statistics currently available.

Ireland is participating in a new survey of adult competencies organised by the OECD - the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PIAAC is a major international survey of adults between the ages of 16-65 on a range of skills covering the interest, attitude and capacity of individual adults to access, manage, understand, integrate and evaluate various types of information (principally text and numerical) as well as to respond and communicate with others in the information age. Not alone will PIAAC yield important data about the skills and competencies of our adult population but it will enable us to compare our performance against the 1995 international survey. Preparatory work is already underway and results are expected in 2013.