Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Much of what I was going to ask has been asked. Ms White of ETBI spoke about the payment of an allowance for some classes. Is this similar to the Youthreach programme? Would students in mainstream education get an allowance? I read the submission from the Presentation Secondary School in Limerick, which I know well from having visited on several occasions, and I noted with interest that it pointed out that because some of the parents do not have a high standard of education it is not a priority for the school-going children because there is no encouragement from the parents. Another school in Limerick attended by a number of Traveller children brought the parents into the system. They got them engaged in the board of management and worked with them in a think tank. They ran classes for parents with numeracy and literacy problems to encourage them to work with their children. This was a good way to integrate them. I worked with the Traveller committee during the ten years I was a member of the local authority. There was a lot of good interaction between both sides. Some of the cuts made must be looked at. We need to encourage the Department to reinstate some of the supports that were in place because they were working at one stage but now they are not. Encouraging the parents to get involved in the school might be a way to start and I would like to hear the comments of the witnesses on this.