Adult Literacy for Life National Programme Office Shines Light on Media Literacy on International Literacy Day

SOLAS/08.09.2025

The Adult Literacy for Life (ALL) National Programme Office in SOLAS is marking International Literacy Day 2025, today (08.09.25), by launching a national campaign to raise awareness about the importance of media literacy and why it matters.

Around 700,000 adults in Ireland struggle with unmet literacy needs, making daily tasks challenging, such as filling out forms, reading medication instructions, managing bills online, using a smartphone, and supporting children's homework.

Literacy is more than reading and writing. It impacts every aspect of people’s lives and includes everything from reading to writing, maths and numeracy to digital skills, financial literacy, media literacy and more.

Media literacy has become an important topic and the ALL office in SOLAS, in collaboration with literacy sector partners, has launched this campaign to encourage people to ‘Stop, think and check’ the information that they see or hear on the radio, TV, social media, on their phone or online.

The most recent figures from the Programme for International Assessment for Adult Competencies (PIAAC), published by the OECD last year show that there is still a large percentage of the Irish population with unmet literacy needs:

  • 1 in 4 adults struggle with everyday maths, 29% of adults are at Level 1 or below for adaptive problem solving, and 

  • 1 in 5 adults aged between 16-65 are at or below Level 1 in literacy, indicating that literacy is still a prevalent issue in society

  • Figures in the recent Digital News Report Ireland showed 68% of adults are concerned about what is real and what is not when online

Speaking about International Literacy Day Minister Harkin said:

"Ireland is recognised as a highly educated, modern and dynamic country, however as a society we must acknowledge that there are people who have missed out on educational opportunities and have been left behind.

"We must get to a place where everyone has the literacy skills to meet their needs, and importantly, that literacy is valued and supported at every level of society. My department is working closely with the ALL National Programme Office, and colleagues across the wider sector to find innovative solutions to address unmet literacy needs.”

Speaking about the campaign Yvonne McKenna, Director of Adult Literacy for Life in SOLAS, said:

“We are excited to be launching a national media literacy campaign with key partners in the literacy space including Media Literacy Ireland, NALA, Education and Training Boards (ETBs), and libraries. In today’s fast-moving world, information is everywhere, and it is getting more difficult to judge how accurate or reliable it is – whether that’s on the radio, TV, social media or online.

We want to support everyone in Ireland, especially adults with unmet literacy needs, their friends, and families to start a conversation about the importance of media literacy. It’s also about helping people to understand what media literacy is and to recognise that literacy is more than reading or writing.”

The campaign encourages people everywhere to take the time to ‘stop, think and check’ information that you see or hear in the media or online, so they can better access services, figure out what’s true, and engage confidently with media and information, and the world around us.” 

Launch of 'Get Lit' Podcast, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim ETB (MSLETB)

To mark International Literacy Day MSLETB are launching their new podcast, Get Lit! The series will explore adult literacy, share real stories, and showcase local supports. The first episode drops this Friday will feature Minister Marian Harkin TD, Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and Dr Yvonne McKenna, Director of the National Adult Literacy for Life Office.

For More Information and Supports

Visit adultliteracyforlife.ie/medialiteracy to find more information and build awareness of media literacy and to find out about local events and where to access free information and supports locally.