The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has said the State is starting to win the battle against poor literacy levels, which have been among the worst in Europe for several years.
He said in the last four years a lot of work had been done at local level by the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) to give those with literacy problems effective tuition. He was speaking recently at recent NALA conference in Dublin.
The last statistics on literacy from the OECD showed that about a quarter of the adult population had poor literacy skills, with many not able to read simple instructions on the back of a medicine bottle, for example.
"This was a very worrying result compared to other European countries and I have to say it was a low watermark for us as a country," said Ahern. "But I think that it is important today to take pride in the work that's been done in the last four years. It gives grounds for confidence that the tide has turned, and turned decisively, against our national literacy problems."
The best way to tackle poor literacy was to make sure the problem never arose in the first place, said Ahern. "Time and time again, I see people who have not stayed long enough at school, held back by literacy problems. I am convinced that developing in-school activities . . . is critical to keeping young people at school."
He said the number of people involved in literacy services had risen from 5,000 in 1997 to 17,000 this year. "Indeed, people tell me that it has never been easier to access a literacy course. . . People can now continue from one-to-one voluntary tuition and when they have developed confidence they can move on to tuition in small groups."
NALA is the main body charged with improving literacy levels. While their programmes have been described as highly successful, figures released at the conference showed that only 3 per cent of those with literacy difficulties were benefiting from tuition. Although others have watched the RT╔ radio and television series on literacy.
Inez Bailey, director of NALA, says there are several measures included in the White Paper on Adult Education, which would help the fight against poor literacy levels. However, she says after almost a year, few of them have been implemented.
