The Government has been urged to make a serious investment in literacy programmes for unemployed people.
The call came from the National Adult Literacy Association and the Irish Organisation of the Unemployed as International Literacy Week got under way yesterday.
Ms Carole Sullivan of the INOU said the State has "one of the worst literacy records in the industrialised world and an extremely low level of participation in literacy schemes". She said the link between literacy and unemployment was "inescapable".
Ms Inez Bailey of NALA said "intensive basic education courses" were needed for the unemployed. She said two pilot literacy initiatives the association had undertaken in co-operation with FAS had been a success and should be expanded. The Return to Education Course gave Community Employment Scheme programme participants in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, and Ballyfermot, Dublin, a chance to improve their basic reading and writing skills.
Both organisations called for the State-wide provision of such programmes, which would provide a mix of literacy tuition and work placement. They urged that £1 million be made available each year for such programmes and for 33 access centres to be established.
Other CE programme participants would have access to a £500 budget if they wanted to take part in literacy tuition. The grant would be payable to the literacy centre that provides the tuition, which could be delivered both during the programme time and afterwards. Additional measures would be needed to reach out to long-term unemployed people who are experiencing literacy difficulties, the organisations say.
