Home
News & Events
NALA response: Budget 2027

NALA response: Budget 2027

October 12, 2026

NALA response: Budget 2027. Images of adult learners learning in an education centre, at home and in an workplace

The Government announced its budget for 2027 on 6 October 2026.

The Department with responsibility for adult literacy, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), will have its biggest ever budget next year (€5.3 billion).

The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) hopes that this investment will reach those who need it the most, including adults with literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs. Literacy, numeracy and digital literacy are the foundation of all learning and they support individual well-being, social cohesion and economic growth.

Good news

We welcome these announcements in particular:

€2 million for Literacy in the Workplace – This is much needed because 17% of employees in Ireland have literacy needs, and 20% have numeracy needs, with higher levels in some sectors (see NALA factsheet on employment).

€22 million for services for people in prison including education – It is not clear right now how much of the €22 million will go to education. However, any increase in funding for education in prisons is welcome, as 64% of people in prison in Ireland have less than upper secondary education.

€150 million over three years for “Skills for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Era” – The Government is right to prepare people for future developments in technology and society. This funding must provide learning opportunities at Levels 1 to 4 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), which are accessible and affordable, so that no one is left behind.

Dedicated support for disabled learners transitioning to employment – It is important that this support is provided through a rights-based approach and that learners receive literacy support where needed.

We look forward to discussing Budget 2027 with Ministers Lawless and Harkin and SOLAS, Ireland’s Further Education and Training Authority. We would like more detail on these initiatives and what role NALA can play in their implementation.

More to do for adult literacy

Much more could be done to address adult literacy needs in Ireland. Levels of literacy and numeracy needs are not improving at the current level of investment. NALA could support more literacy learning if we had more funding.

We will continue to advocate for:

Funding to be targeted where the need is greatest.
Swift implementation of all the National Skills Council’s recommendations for foundational skills in its second advice note to Government (some but not all of these made it into this budget).
More core funding for adult literacy provision – in Education and Training Boards, community education providers, and our own Learn with NALA service which has had no budget increase since 2022.