Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 114: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the steps she will take on foot of the recent survey published by the National Adult Literacy Agency which points to the difficulty many persons have with basic maths; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33592/10]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am very aware of the challenges we face in dealing with the kinds of basic skills needs which were identified in the NALA survey referred to by the Deputy. The provision of numeracy to children and adults is already a key feature of measures to address educational disadvantage and it also forms a key element of second chance and further education and training programmes, especially for those with low levels of skills.

VECs delivery numeracy tuition as part of the adult literacy and community education scheme. Funding for adult literacy has increased from €1 million in 1997 to €30 million in 2010 and the number of participants increased from 5,000 to 50,000 in the same period. Overall, in 2009, over 130,000 participants took part in a range of part-time further education programmes at Levels 1-4 on the NFQ, where core skills like literacy, numeracy and ICT are a fundamental part of the courses. New awards in this area have also been developed at Levels 1 and 2 in the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

Within the Intensive Tuition in Adult Basic Education (ITABE) programme, numeracy is specifically referenced as part of the curriculum and assessment system. My Department funded NALA to produce a "curriculum guide" for ITABE which includes a numeracy section and my Department also provides funds to the Literacy Development Centre in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) to develop courses for literacy practitioners, including a specific numeracy module.

At second level, my Department is implementing Project Maths, a major programme of reform designed to encourage better understanding of mathematics. In 2010, the first cohort of students in Project Maths pilot schools sat the Leaving Certificate and the results were very encouraging and it is currently being rolled out to all schools. Some €3m was provided for Project Maths in 2009 and of the order €4m is being invested in professional development of teachers in 2010.

In the junior cycle itself, a more investigative approach is used to build on and extend students' experience of mathematics. In primary schools, a bridging framework that links mathematics to topics in the Junior Certificate mathematics syllabuses is being developed. Promoting proficiency in numeracy is also a core objective of a range of measures under the DEIS Action Plan.

All of this shows that my Department is very engaged with addressing issues around numeracy and I will continue to work to address these issues.