Adult illiteracy a priority - Ahern

The Government was giving a high priority to tackling adult illiteracy, the Taoiseach told the Dail.

Mr Ahern said that when the Government took office, €800,000 was being allocated towards dealing with the problem, while the figure now was in excess of €10 million. He added that the provision was at the core of the forthcoming White Paper on adult education, which the Minister of State for Education, Mr Willie O'Dea, would bring forward shortly.

The Taoiseach was replying to the Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, who referred to the "damaging" OECD report indicating that 25 per cent of the population was effectively illiterate. "We hear promises but see no action. What will the Taoiseach do about this?"

She added that very high levels of adult illiteracy caused great hardship in families and meant people who could contribute to the economy by taking employment were probably prevented from doing so. The Government stood indicted by the OECD report, she added.

Mr Ahern said an enormous improvement had been brought about by adult education schemes. "Out of a potential workforce of 1.8 million, there are approximately 30,000 people in the long-term unemployment category. The number has decreased in the past three years from over 12 per cent to under 2 per cent, which is probably the highest and most dramatic recovery in long-term unemployment in the OECD."