Literacy and education in Ireland

Recent media attention has focused on the low ranking of Ireland in a major international study on literacy. In this paper we examine the dataset used in these studies to consider the reason behind the low ranking. We find si gnificant evidence that the underlying reason for this is the low level of formal schooling of older individuals, possibly due to the lack of free sec ondary schooling. Moreover we find that formal schooling in Ireland has a b igger effect on literacy outcomes than in either: Northern Ireland or Great Britain.