Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the witnesses for their comprehensive presentations and the work they are doing in this area. I have a question in regard to the presentation by Councillor Richmond on the lack of engagement. He said there needs to be a greater effort to reach out to potential stakeholders and to construct a municipal engagement with stakeholders in order for the strategy to flourish. What particular area would he prioritise and can we make major efforts over the next 12 to 18 months to get that engagement with those important stakeholders in this programme?

My second question relates to the presentation made by Ms. Gerstenberger on the area of educational disadvantage. Is there a particular area that should be prioritised? There are a number of educational programmes in place at the moment at local level in various areas around the country. In my constituency, there is a programme involving young people and their parents. We are doing this over 20 years. In 1996, we spoke of breaking the cycle and reducing the pupil-teacher ratio. In terms of educational disadvantage, what area in particular could be prioritised in the knowledge that doing so we would achieve an end result within the fastest possible time frame? Has that been identified? What is the best way of implementing the change that is required?