Kerry community groups urged to apply for €1m literacy funding scheme

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

Kerry is set to benefit from a €1m fund aimed at meeting unmet literacy needs, including digital and financial, in the country.

Community groups in Kerry are being urged to submit applications to the national Adult Literacy for Life (ALL) programme and secure funding for local initiatives.

Over 700,000 people in Ireland have unmet literacy needs, according to government data, meaning a significant number of people struggle completing daily tasks such as filling in a form, reading instructions on medicines or adding up a bill.

In Kerry, previous funding supported several projects, including a creative writing initiative with Kerry Writers’ Museum in collaboration with Kerry ETB, and another project involving South Kerry Development Partnership and Killorglin Family Resource Centre, looking at financial literacy.

Paula Tiller, Regional Literacy Coordinator, at Kerry ETB said: “In 2025, several successful and transformative projects were delivered across the Kerry region, thanks to the ALL Collaboration and Innovation Fund.

“This funding helped to support learners with unmet literacy needs in Tralee, Cahersiveen, Listowel, Killarney and Killorglin. The projects helped support communities and vulnerable adults, and to promote local literacy services.”

Yvonne McKenna, Director of the ALL Programme Office at SOLAS said the fund was aimed at those most at risk of having literacy needs including older adults, members of the Traveller community, migrants and early school leavers.

“The projects that the Fund supports have a real impact in making the Kerry region a more literacy-aware and literacy-friendly place,” she said.

The closing date for the fund is 12pm on Thursday, January 22.