Report praises community education

COMMUNITY education courses could return the Government’s €10 million investment almost threefold in the benefits from increased volunteering alone, research has suggested.

The study of almost 700 participants also finds their health, confidence and civic engagement improve significantly.

The Department of Education spent just over €10 million last year on community education initiatives delivered by city and county vocational education committees (VECs) to almost 60,000 adults a year.