Call to simplify Agreement text

The Government was urged yesterday to translate the Northern Ireland Agreement into more "user-friendly" language.

The Government was urged yesterday to translate the Northern Ireland Agreement into more "user-friendly" language.

The National Adult Literacy Agency said no effort had been made to make the text easier to read. Ms Inez Bailey, NALA's acting director, said it was not good enough simply to distribute the document; it also needed to be understood by people to allow them to make informed choices.

Ms Bailey said an international literacy survey published last September found that 25 per cent of the Irish population could cope only with simple text.