David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Earlier, I passed on to the clerk the text of another parliamentary question I tabled in respect of homework clubs and the Supporting Travellers and Roma, STAR, education pilot project, which is under way. While I recognise that the Department of Education is doing a lot with that pilot project, I contend that in addition to housing, we need to start providing homework clubs and premises where children can go after school to get support and help. The Department is doing a lot of work in that area but we should be working on that in tandem with the housing issue.

There are four STAR pilot areas, Galway, Wexford, Dublin and Cork. Additional resources are provided, including an additional educational welfare officer, an additional home-school community liaison co-ordinator and two Traveller-Roma community education workers from the local communities employed by local Traveller-Roma support groups. Based on identified local needs, the STAR teams run a wide range of initiatives. The pilot project is very positive but I would like to see it expanded, as needed. There is a lot more in my parliamentary question and I ask that it be circulated at some stage.

There is a lot we can do in tandem with housing. While it is crucial, we must not wait for housing to be resolved because there are other problems that need to be dealt with. Otherwise, another generation of young people will be failed by the system.