• The literacy issue in Ireland

The literacy issue in Ireland

Who is affected by literacy difficulties?

The OECD Interational Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), conducted in 1995, found that 25% of the Irish adult population were at Level 1 - the lowest of the five literacy levels. This figure equates to 500,000 adults who have a significant literacy difficulty. There has been no national or international adult literacy survey in Ireland since IALS.  There was a commitment in the White Paper on Adult Education Learning for Life (4.4.7 Monitoring Impact page 93) to carry out a national adult literacy survey in 2003 and at regular intervals thereafter.

What is Government doing?

There was a target set in the last National Action Plan on Social Inclusion to reduce the proportion of the population with a significant literacy difficulty from 25% to between 20% and 15%. This has been followed up with the target in the current NAPS Incl 2007-2016 to reduce the proportion to between 15% and 10%.  However, these targets have never been monitored or measured.  Sean Healy CORI describes the target, that plans for 200,000 -300,000 Irish adults to remain with significant literacy difficulties in 2016, as 'unambitious, illogical and unacceptable' (Sean Healy, CORI Policy Briefing September 24 2007).

In terms of qualifications and the workplace, the National Skills Strategy (Tomorrows Skills Forfas, 2007) identifies that 539,500 people (some 30% of the workforce) have Level 3 (Junior Certificate) qualifications or less (with an estimated 10% having no qualifications).  The strategy identifies the need to reduce this figure to 7% (180,000) workers by 2020 to maintain Ireland's competitiveness and its progression towards becoming a 'knowledge economy'.