Irish Examiner view: Adult literacy and numeracy levels demand action
A family reading and browsing together. But the new data shows that more than one in five adults in Ireland do not have basic literacy skills, and one in four have issues with numeracy. Picture: iStock
Ireland prides itself on its literary culture, which makes it all the more surprising to learn that our national literacy levels are in decline.
As reported here by Jess Casey, the National Adult Literacy Agency’s data on literacy levels should give us all pause.
More than one in five adults, or 750,000 people, do not have basic literacy skills, while even more people — one in four adults, or 835,000 people — have issues with numeracy.
As outlined by the agency, this poses significant obstacles to those adults in day-to-day tasks such as reading medicine instructions or budgeting for household finances.
To complicate matters further, it has also pointed out that an estimated 640,000 adults have digital literacy needs, making it difficult to engage with digital services.
An agency spokesperson pointed out this is a particular challenge “at a time when the digital demands of everyday life continue to increase, whether that is accessing public services, managing finances, engaging in education, or participating in the workplace”.
Given the drive from public and private bodies to get clients and service users to use online services at every opportunity, this is a particularly serious concern when combined with the decline in literacy and numeracy. It means there is a significant cohort of people who may not have the skills to access and use those online services properly, and if some of those people are among the one in five with literacy challenges, or the quarter of the population with numeracy issues, then they are at a further disadvantage.
The agency has stressed that investment in literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy must remain a priority if Ireland wishes to build “a resilient, skilled, and adaptable workforce”.
This is certainly important if we are to maintain our competitiveness in the global economy: Clearly a well-educated workforce is central to achieving that aim.
However, if a sizeable number of our citizens cannot use basic services properly, then we also have a fundamental democratic deficit, with many in our society seriously disadvantaged. That requires immediate action.
Already this week, the ongoing heatwave has led to questions being asked about our infrastructure.
Concerns have been expressed about our national road network, which is deteriorating rapidly in the heat; it has been suggested that as much as €1bn may be needed for a total upgrade.
The introduction of a hosepipe ban underlines the ongoing problems with our water supply system (with Uisce Éireann’s establishment of a hotline to inform on those breaking the ban is doing little for national morale).
This week, the Climate and Health Alliance, a body which includes the Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society, and the Royal College of Surgeons, pointed to a completely different challenge, stating that our cities are not prepared for the health impacts of very high temperatures.
It is a long-established tenet of urban design that cities inevitably become ‘heat islands’ — the widespread use of heat-absorbing materials such as asphalt and concrete, along with the concomitant lack of green areas, means heat is retained in urban areas, thus keeping towns and cities several degrees hotter than surrounding areas.
This can have serious consequences, particularly for at-risk groups such as babies and infants, as well as those with pre-existing health conditions.
The ESRI has already warned that heatwaves are likely to cause almost 500 deaths in Ireland annually by the end of the century.
In that context, the advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) is worth considering: It favours increasing green spaces in cities, creating cooling centres, and improving building design to combat the heat. Training social services, schools, and community groups to recognise and respond to heat-related illnesses is another key WHO recommendation.
Ireland should certainly be proactive in equipping our urban areas to deal with heat. There has been a significant increase in heat-related deaths across Europe, an increase directly linked to the recent heatwave.
We should act now to ensure the same does not happen here.
It would be understandable if people took refuge from the punishing heat tomorrow by staying home, drawing the curtains for shade, and remaining still, and hopefully sweat-free, on their couches.
Anyone opting for this approach will have no shortage of sport on TV, as it is shaping up to be a Sunday crammed with top-class events.
Sports fans can choose between the All-Ireland hurling final featuring Galway and Limerick, and the Open Championship will conclude at Royal Birkdale. If your tastes run to sport on wheels, then The Tour de France rolls on and on, as does the Formula 1 season in Belgium.
Of course, anyone with even a passing interest in sport will also tune in to the small matter of the World Cup final in the evening, as Spain and Argentina fight it out for supremacy.
That line-up offers something for everyone, whether your tastes run to team sports or individual challenges. It is striking, however, to realise that the dominant figure of the entire weekend in world sport is not the kind of sleek, muscular figure we associate with elite athletic endeavour.
On the contrary, the key man is a 39-year-old who appears to stroll around the field most of the time before bending events to his will with a decisive intervention.
Little wonder Lionel Messi is such a hero to couch potatoes of all ages, and all sizes.
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