Every child born this year will be given five free books and life membership of their local library as part of a Government-sponsored scheme to tackle illiteracy and reading difficulties among children.
The books will be given to parents when they bring their infant to the local health centre. The idea is to get parents to read to their child and get them used to books early in their lives. The project is part of a major Government drive against poor literacy levels. It was disclosed earlier this year that one in 10 children leaving primary school cannot read or write.
Yesterday was international literacy day, when agencies around the world seek to draw attention to the problem.
The latest scheme will cost about £600,000 and will involve circulating books to about 60,000 infants. The scheme is being run by the National Reading Initiative set up earlier this year by the Department of Education. The Minister, Dr Woods, is expected to announce the scheme within the next month.
The scheme applies to children born this year but there is a strong possibility it will be extended in future years, according to sources. A similar project, sponsored by the retailer Sainsburys, has been operating with great success in Britain for several years.
The head of the National Reading Initiative, Ms Bernadette McHugh, said it was vital that infants, particularly those between six and nine months, were introduced to books.
"It is never too young to start and the idea here is to put books straight into the hands of parents and subsequently young children," she said.
The free books will be in a pack which also includes a leaflet for parents advising them how to read to their child. The books are aimed specifically at young children and include bright pictures and themes suited to the age group. One of them will be in Irish. Libraries around the State will store the packs and send them to health centres when they are required. Public health nurses will be responsible for giving the books to parents. Also marking international literacy day yesterday was the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) which said that teachers were key to the success of any anti-literacy drive.
Its outgoing general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole, said a national literacy committee with a "preponderance of teachers and educationalists" should be set up to tackle the problem.
At primary school, teachers should identify at about six years of age those with reading difficulties, he said. Subsequently a team consisting of the class teacher, a learning support teacher and - if necessary - an educational psychologist should draw up an action plan to help the pupil.
The numbers in need of assistance might be "quantified" in national terms and publicised as long as it did not identify individual schools, said Senator O'Toole.
Emmet Oliver can be reached at eoliver@irish-times.ie