Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This shows that it has been done before and that it can be done again. The service level agreement should be reintroduced, but the question of which Department it falls under and where responsibility for it will lie has not been answered yet. It seems to me that it should fall within the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, but that may not necessarily be the case. Perhaps the Department of Health or the Department of Justice and Equality could be involved, given the youth probation services are involved. We need certainty. If a course is being delivered everyone has to buy into it so that placements can be provided. One cannot go from year to year wondering where his or her placements are going to be. If I was a student I certainly would not be applying for a course if I did not know that I could get my placements from that course, and variety in those placements.

What is the rate of fall-off of students who go on placements? I imagine that there is a fall-off in numbers. Affordability is a factor. Is it an issue?