Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The figure of approximately €600 per person per annum was given in respect of working with somebody and improving his or her literacy. Is there a figure for what it costs the State if there are 750,000 people with numeracy problems? What is the cost of not having people at a certain level of literacy and numeracy? Health has been mentioned, along with being able to engage with politics and the education system. This has a detrimental effect on society. Could we flip the conversation and look at the cost to the State of people not having literacy and numeracy skills rather than how much it costs to provide the service?

Is there less awareness and understanding of learning difficulties relating to numeracy and dyscalculia and a resistance to acknowledge this within the education sector? I know at leaving certificate level there are no extra points or allowances if a person has dyscalculia. I could be corrected but, as far as I am aware, Trinity is the only university that gives a maths waiver. Have our guests come across many people with undiagnosed dyscalculia and is there a lack of a real will to address it as a learning difficulty?

We have heard that children achieve certain scores and there is a big gap when we consider adult scores. Adults have different types of engagement than children. A young person in sixth year may want to attend university but the parents may not be from a professional background or have the same level of literacy. They may not have the literacy to navigate a system of application forms for colleges and points or SUSI applications. Sometimes that level of literacy might be completely missing within the family; it would not matter if there is a high level of literacy in children because they would not engage with that type of literature anyway. What impact does this have on a child who may have scored highly in literacy throughout school? What type of impact does an intergenerational literacy deficit have within the family?