Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has any plans to initiate a new national policy on adult education, including adult literacy, in view of the fact that the last such policy was published in 2000; if he could broaden the new national strategy for children and young persons to include adult literacy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37856/11]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government contains commitments in relation to the improvement of adult literacy levels in two key areas. As part of its Labour Market Policy, the Government will make literacy and basic workplace skills a national priority, with literacy training incorporated into a wider variety of further education and training programmes. The Government will also address the widespread and persistent problem of adult literacy through the integration of literacy in vocational training and through community education under its lifelong learning policy.

Since the White Paper on Adult Education ("Learning for Life") in 2000, adult literacy, has developed and expanded significantly - over 400,000 people have availed of adult literacy in that period and annual investment has gone from €10.6 million to €30 million. In July 2011, the Government announced the establishment of a new further education and training authority - SOLAS. SOLAS will have strategic responsibility for all further education and training, including adult literacy, and all further education and training will ultimately be delivered by the 16 Local Education and Training Boards (LETBs), which will replace the 33 Vocational Education Committees (VECs).

Developing the framework for SOLAS involves working towards the full integration of the separate further education and training sectors. The education and training programmes to be provided through SOLAS will be modernised over the whole sector to become more relevant, accessible, and more effective. On this basis, I believe that policy development for literacy is best dealt with as part of the work of establishing SOLAS.

In addition, Ireland is participating in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), organised by the OECD, which involves surveying adults (between the ages of 16-64) in their homes on a range of skills including literacy, and results will be available in October 2013. The data from PIAAC will form an important part of policy development in the area of adult literacy.

I should note that the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy does contain a number of recommendations in relation to adult literacy, specifically in relation to family literacy, and my Department is engaged in the implementation of those recommendations.