Community groups across Kildare and Wicklow encouraged to apply to €1 million fund to address unmet literacy needs

The Adult Literacy For Life (ALL) Programme Office, supported by SOLAS, has announced its call for community partners in counties Kildare and Wicklow to apply for key funding to address local and national unmet literacy needs through its €1 million Collaboration and Innovation Fund 2025.

Launched by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan (TD), the €1 million fund will enable community partners in Kildare and Wicklow and across Ireland, to access important funding to reach adults with unmet literacy, numeracy, digital and financial literacy needs and help to create literacy-friendly communities.

The Minister made the announcement as the latest figures from the Programme for International Assessment for Adult Competencies (PIAAC), published by the OECD, were announced recently, with findings from the survey providing an overall picture of current literacy needs across the Irish adult population.

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Findings show, that in Ireland: one in four adults struggle with everyday maths, 29% of adults are at Level 1 or below for adaptive problem solving, and; one in five adults aged between 16-65, are at or below Level 1 in literacy, indicating that literacy is an important issue in society.

This means that around 700,000 adults in Ireland struggle with reading and understanding everyday text, and may have difficulty completing common daily tasks like filling in a form, reading instructions on medicines, adding up a bill, and helping kids with homework.

Over the last number of years, the ALL Collaboration and Innovation Fund has supported around 150 innovative projects in communities across Ireland, with €66,000 awarded to support 8 local projects in Counties Kildare and Wicklow in 2024.

In Kildare, ALL Collaboration and Innovation funding in 2023 supported the successful rollout of the ‘Health Literacy and Digital Health’ initiative, which provided essential health literacy and digital skills education to adults with unmet literacy needs, to help them make informed choices about their health.

This initiative resulted from the effective collaboration between a local family resource centre and a HSE EVE Clubhouse (community-based recovery service for adults who experience mental health difficulties), with input from a local pharmacy and local library.

This health literacy-focused initiative helped adults to understand how to read prescription drug instructions, comprehend doctor’s orders, and know how to complete consent forms as they navigate an increasingly complex online healthcare system.

In a supportive environment, participants were able to learn these new health literacy skills and put into practice what they learned. Participants reported their health and digital literacy improved considerably thanks to the course, with the transformational impact evidenced in participant feedback that stated “I now know how to find information, where to go, who to ask and not to be afraid to ask.”

Deirdre Gallagher, Regional Literacy Coordinator at Kildare and Wicklow ETB said: "The ALL Collaboration and Innovation Fund has enabled community stakeholders across counties Kildare and Wicklow to come together to develop innovative projects that support the aims of the ALL Strategy.

"Through effective partnership our communities in Kildare and Wicklow are becoming more literacy-aware and literacy friendly. By working together and being innovative, community organisations are more successful in reaching those furthest behind in our communities. Regional initiatives that build confidence with literacy, numeracy, financial and digital literacy skills, and facilitate all to participate meaningfully in our communities are having a transformative impact.

"I encourage partners in Kildare and Wicklow to think about a community initiative that could drive positive literacy outcomes, and to apply to the Fund by 5pm on Friday, 7th February."

Yvonne McKenna, Director of the ALL Programme Office at SOLAS said: "Through the ALL Collaboration and Innovation Fund we can move towards our goal of ensuring that all adults in Ireland have the literacy to meet their needs, and ensure we have a more literacy-aware and literacy-friendly society in Counties Kildare and Wicklow and beyond.

"This Collaboration and Innovation Fund will help a range of learners including older adults, Travellers, migrants, lone parents, and early school leavers gain access to key supports to benefit their needs to participate more fully in society.

"This year, we are delighted to have the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) provide €250,000 towards the Fund to help support adults with unmet financial literacy across Ireland. We look forward to helping local communities deliver on a diverse range of innovative literacy projects to benefit adults with unmet literacy needs across Ireland."

Applications to the ALL Collaboration and Innovation Fund 2025 will close on Friday, February 7 2025 at 5pm.

Find information on how to apply to the Collaboration and Innovation Fund at www.adultliteracyforlife.ie