Minister Haughey visits South Tipperary

Posted on 15/06/09 by Seán Haughey The Minister for Lifelong Learning, Seán Haughey TD today ( Monday) paid a visit to South Tipperary to see at first hand the great work being done in the region on Adult Education and the Back to Education Initiatives.

During his visit, the Minister met with management and staff at the various centres and also spoke with the learners attending the facilities.

The first stop on Minister Haughey's busy schedule was Cahir Adult Education Centre.

At the centre the Minister was shown the work being done on family literacy with Travellers. This programme supports 15 traveller women from around South Tipperary to create Story Sacks and Life Copybooks.

The aim of Story Sacks is to give Traveller children the opportunity to explore their culture through play and also for Traveller adults to engage with their children and grandchildren in a format that highlights the positive aspects of Traveller culture through a medium that is accessible namely toys, games, photographs and stories. The programme is funded by the Department of Education and Science through the Adult literacy programme.

Speaking during his visit Minister Haughey said' I am delighted to be here in Cahir to see for myself and to appreciate the huge progress that has been made on Adult Literacy programmes in the South Tipperary region.

Minister Haughey also heard about the work on Literacy in a Landscape - learning through horticulture. The programme has opened many opportunities to develop literacy and numeracy skills as well as photography and computer skills.

The centre is also involved in Community Education and the Vocational Training Opportunity Scheme-VTOS involving Art and Multi Media.

Minister Haughey then travelled on to Clonmel to the Adult Learning Centre Literacy Headquarters at Gashouse Bridge where the great work being done locally was outlined to the Minister.

Speaking in Clonmel, Minister Haughey said' I have attended a vast range of events around the country and the enthusiasm of providers and learners everywhere, which is very evident here in Clonmel, is truly inspiring.

From here the Minister visited the Back to Education Initiative -BTEI Centre at Ormonde Street. 250 of the 777 learners in the BTEI programme in South Tipperary are located at Ormonde Street. The centre runs a wide range of courses including childcare, healthcare, business and secretarial, animal welfare and horticulture.

The final stop on Minister Haughey's busy schedule was South Tipperary Adult Guidance in Education Services-STAGES located on the Mall in Clonmel.

Here the Minister discussed with the Centre staff about the significant increase in the numbers presenting to the service in recent months. In the first quarter of 2009, the numbers of learners accessing the service increased by 100%. 323 people used the service in the first three months of this year- an increase of 160 on the same oeriod last year. Overall, over 900 people availed of the service in 2008.

Speaking on the conclusion of his visit, Minister Haughey said ‘there is a growing awareness that education can play an important role, and as a lifelong process, learning should occur at all stages.

‘I as Minister for Lifelong Learning am very grateful to all the management and staff here in South Tipperary for their commitment and professionalism to their work, said Minister Haughey.