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The Irish Government’s White Paper on adult education, Learning for Life (Department of Education and Science, 2000),outlines the Government’s policies and proposals for adult education. Lifelong learning has become the taken for granted context in which adult education perceives its development for the future and has the advantage of giving adult education a credibility that it rarely gets without such a context. This White Paper is welcome and timely and is the result of a lengthy consultation process that preceded publication. The consultation process extended far beyond the Green Paper (DES, 1998),in fact back to the Education White Paper (DES,1995) and Green Paper (DES,1992). It has been a year since the publication of the White Paper and people have had an opportunity to assess the position after the widespread welcome for its publication. This discussion took place at the annual Adult Education Conference organised by the Adult Education Organisers , Chief Executive Officers and Adult Literacy Organisers in Newbridge, May 2001. The participants were Berni Brady,Director of AONTAS, the National Adult Education Association, Inez Bailey, Director of NALA, the National Adult Literacy Agency and Sean Conlon, Chairperson of the AEOA, t h e Adult Education Organisers’ Association. In this discussion we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the White Paper and at some of the issues that concern practitioners.