The national Reading Initiative, established last year to address the issue of low literacy standards among the Irish population, is about to be wound up.

Although it was set up for a period of one year only, many educators are concerned that if the organisation is simply disbanded, all the good work it has done will come to nothing. The initiative was set up by the Department of Education and Science following publication of the results of an OECD survey, which showed disconcertingly low levels of reading ability among the Irish population.

A Department of Education and Science survey of primary school pupils in fifth class also showed that there had been no improvement in reading standards for 20 years.

The National Reading Initiative was put in place to raise public awareness of the importance of reading and to improve teaching standards. Some £2.5 million was allocated to the project, which has been co-ordinated, since its inception, by Bernadette McHugh.

Over the last year, the initiative's team of four has worked hard to highlight the importance of reading at both national and local levels, sending out the message that it is never too late to start learning. Every child born in 2000 will receive a Babies Love Books pack containing five books and instructions for parents. Irish-speaking families receive two extra books in Irish.

The books were funded by the Department of Education and Science, but local libraries packed, stored and subsequently distributed them to the health boards. Since September, local health clinics have been giving out the packs to babies at their nine-months check-ups. Videos for parents and teachers, a teacher's summer course and a CD-ROM of best teaching practice have also been developed. The Writers Worth Reading project, created by Co Wexford's library service, has been expanded nationally. Bookmarks listing children's writers by age suitability have been distributed by libraries throughout the Republic.

A total of £700,000 has been distributed to hundreds of groups, organisations and educational institutions for innovative literacy projects at local level.

The strength of the initiative, educators say, is that it focuses on a single issue - literacy - but works across a variety of sectors. Some argue that instead of allowing the initiative to simply fade away, the Department should have an evaluation of its work and effectiveness carried out.

A number of the local projects are highly effective and could be replicated State-wide. There is a clear need for the work of this current initiative to be continued in a focused and targeted way. Otherwise, the long-term effects of the £2.5 million spend will be minimal.