As with most things in life, the most significant barrier to success comes in monetary terms.

"Finance is always the biggest barrier, " said Maureen Kavanagh, national coordinator for the community education facilitators training and support programme at Aontas, the Irish National Association of Adult Education . "The Irish policy regarding fees for part-time programmes actually works against the national policies which have been put in place to increase participation in third-level colleges."

According to the Higher Education Authority (HEA), there are 34,000 students in part-time third level learning, but these 34,000 do not benefit from the free fees regime which has been enjoyed by those in full-time education. This is despite what Aontas found to be "unequivocal support" among stakeholders for equality of treatment between part-time and full-time learners.

"It is true that there are no fees for part-time students if they are in receipt of social welfare payments, " said Kavanagh. "But, in many ways, this acts as a disincentive to people, because the only way that a person who is working can avail of free fees is if they are out of work for 12 months."

Aontas has been exploring a number of solutions to this inequity, including employers paying college fees and then benefiting from tax relief. But Kavanagh is keen to stress that, while finance is probably the most significant factor in deciding whether or not an adult returns to the educational fold, there are a number of other barriers in place which need to be overcome.

"Adults, particularly those coming with a socioeconomic disadvantage, need greater support if they are to become part-time students, " she said. "It is true that the National Access Office (National Office for Equity of Access to Higher Education) is looking into these issues, and this is a major policy area which is being looked at, but barriers remain at present."

These include issues such as the provision of childcare, and while Aontas welcomes the recently announced Back to Education childcare fund, it has called for the provision of childcare facilities for all providers of adult education, whether at third-level, PLC on other type of institution. Transport is another major stumbling block for those looking to return to education, along with flexibility of learning arrangements.

"Research has shown that, to enable those who have missed out on education to participate again, the education has to be flexible, and it has to be localised, " said Kavanagh.

"This is especially important for rural Ireland, where some students may be facing a 30 or 40 mile round trip to access an educational opportunity. Colleges must offer more flexible provision through outreach programmes."

Kavanagh points to the community education sector as an example of accessible and localised education.

"There are thousands of these groups across the country, enabling people to take their first bite back into education, " she said.

"They are enabled to do this by the provision of courses in local centres, and the education is based on the needs of the community.

Courses are both non-formal and formal, and some are even providing qualifications at FETAC level, supported by their local VEC."

Indeed, the VECs have become something of a cornerstone for the provision of adult education, and, for example, at PLC (Post Leaving Cert) level, it has been estimated that about 50% of participants are what could be described as "mature students".

"The whole purpose of adult education is to respond to the needs of society, " said Michael Moriarty, chief executive of IVEA, the Irish Vocational Educational Authority. "We have seen rapid technological change over recent times, and adults everywhere are having to re-skill or upskill in order to secure appropriate employment."

The VEC sector supports adults returning to college both financially (through schemes such as VTOS . . .

Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme . . . and the Back to Education Initiative). But it has also recently put in place "softer" supports, such as the newly developed Adult Education Guidance Service. These are now in every VEC, and the service has been established to provide adults with information regarding what is appropriate for them.

This is a significant development, because people looking to return to education often have no idea of where to begin. But they can now contact the VEC, and discuss which route back to education would be most suited to them. This sort of information is crucial to tackle the other great barrier to adults returning to education . . . attitude.

"Education is often viewed, particularly by older men, as something which is not for them, " explained Maureen Kavanagh. "Maybe their past experiences were bad ones, or maybe there is a fear of peer ridicule if they say that they are going back. But there are a number of ways in which we can combat this attitude."

One such is making the education work-related or task related, which is something that the VEC and Institute of Technology sectors have been particularly good at.

"A good example of this can be found in rural Ireland, on the west coast, " said Kavanagh. "Some of the in-shore fishermen found that they had to participate in a training course to get their licences. But once they arrived, they realised that it was not like being back at school, and that they could learn as adults and were treated as equals by the course providers. And, following this experience, they all agreed to come back to pursue further education in other programmes."

This attitudinal barrier can be found across all sectors of the adult education spectrum, from certificate to degree. And, in many ways, there is a good reason for this attitude . . . for years, traditional education adopted a policy of "fit in or get out", which left little room for mature students who had more on their plates than did fresh-faced youngsters.

"Providers of education need to realise that mature students come with other areas of their lives that they need to deal with, " said Kavanagh. "This could be work, it could be children, or it could be broader socioeconomic problems that they need to deal with. All of these things need to be taken into account."

The fact that colleges now have access officers to deal with these issues is one positive step, and can be viewed as an area where the cause of adult education has been progressed.

But there is still some way to go before adult education is viewed on an equal footing with more tradition forms of learning.

"Adult education is still very much the poor relation, " said Kavanagh. "It is poorly funded, and receives less than 2% of the overall budget for education. But we're calling on the government to increase that budget to 10% over the course of the NDP. In doing so, they will be building not just the future economy, but the social cohesion of Ireland. Because the glue that holds us together is strengthened by lifelong learning."