How many adults have literacy difficulties in Ireland?

How many adults have literacy difficulties in Ireland?

The most recent information available to us on this question indicates that about 25% of the Irish population, or at least 500,000 adults, had very low literacy skills. This meant that these people could only perform tasks that involved finding a simple piece of information in a short written piece, with no distracting information.

A further 30% have very low educational attainment. Therefore 55% of the adult population are below the minimum desirable threshold.

Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1997. Literacy Skills for the Knowledge Society: Further results from the International Adult Literacy Survey. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.