Writing by Conor Thompson, AONTAS Policy Officer
2024 will be a year of elections, and we’re continuing to work with all political parties across the island of Ireland to ensure adult learners’ experiences and opinions are at the heart of education policy.
Recently I went with our CEO Dearbháil Lawless and Barbara Nea, our Head of Advocacy, to the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis at the Technological University of the Shannon, Athlone.
Michelle O’Neill MLA, deputy leader of Sinn Féin and First Minister Elect of Northern Ireland, visited our stand. Michelle and Dearbháil talked about AONTAS’ recent Northern Ireland Community Education Census, and the huge impact community education has for adult learners in the North. Michelle is an advocate for community education and agreed that the groups who took part in the census need more sustainable funding.
We were also delighted to be joined at our stand by Caoimhe Archibald MLA, who spoke at the launch of the NI Community Education Census in September about the importance of Community Education. Caoimhe’s colleagues Danny Baker, MLA for West Belfast, and Jemma Dolan, MLA for Fermanagh-South Tyrone, also spoke to us about the importance of adult education in communities they represent.
Eoin Ó Broin TD, Sinn Féin spokesperson for housing, called by our stand and spoke to Dearbháil and our Chair John D'Arcy about the importance of community education where he lives in Clondalkin in Dublin. Dearbháil talked to Eoin about the research and advocacy work we do at AONTAS to support community education in Ireland. Seán Crowe TD also visited our stand, and we talked about the role community education plays in bringing people together and breaking down barriers in our towns, villages and suburbs.
Our big focus for next year is the need for stable and effective financial support for adult and community education, for learners, tutors, and providers of education.
At the Ard Fheis, we were speaking to representatives about improving financial supports for Further Education and Training learners.
The current system of financial support is complex, and many FET learners aren’t eligible for the same grants as university students. Sinn Féin spokesperson for Social Protection Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire visited our stand to talk about financial supports for the FET learners on low incomes who need it most.
It was great to talk with representatives at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis about the value and impact of adult and community education. With several elections taking place next year, AONTAS are talking to public representatives across Ireland to make sure adult and community education is on the political agenda.
We will have more updates on this soon so keep an eye on aontas.com for more.
