Volunteer literacy tutors need greater support if their service is to continue, the conference of the National Tutors' Forum heard last weekend.

Inez Bailey, director of the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), said that volunteers are the back-bone of the literacy service, yet they receive only minimal support. "There are more than 3,500 volunteer tutors, providing 10,000 hours of literacy tuition a week. They provide the bulk of the service and if they were paid, it would cost the State approximately £7 million annually."

State funding for adult education has increased from £0.85 million in 1997 to £7.825 million in 2000. However there are still no full-time, paid tuition posts within the service.

"Small measures would make all the difference to tutors. In rural areas, tutors often have substantial distances to travel to the learning centres, yet they receive no compensation. Also, more people would like to do training courses if their travel to the courses was paid for," Bailey said.

A series of six regional meetings with tutors during the year revealed that tutors often feel isolated, she said. They would appreciate a national network of support groups and extra help with students who had particular difficulties, such as dyslexia, or learning disabilities.

"It is important that these volunteers are given the support they need," said Bailey. "They come from all walks of life, from the local butcher to the local garda. If they were all from the professional side of things, the service would not have such a rich wealth of experience."

The conference, held in Dublin, was the first national forum for literacy tutors organised by NALA. As well as recognising the contribution provided by tutors, the conference offered workshops on working with adults with dyslexia, developing and using learning materials, numeracy, spelling and the use of plain English.