In just three years there has been a fall of 184,600 adult learners in programmes for personal fulfilment, civic participation and community development. Apart from the lack of inflationary increases these changes are not the result of Government cuts.

This fall of 55,000 is on top of the 1.4 million adult learning places which have been lost from all publicly-funded adult learning over the last two years.

The Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, Bill Rammell said: