Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with Ms Leydon that students may not attend a DEIS school yet qualify for DEIS status. While funding is an issue, one way to solve the problem is to expand the school completion programme because it does a lot of good work. Many schools that do not have a DEIS status participate in the school completion programme. The programme makes a great difference to the lives of many students. For example, one of my constituents contacted me recently about a child being very stressed about the leaving certificate examination. Luckily, the student attends a school that participates in the school completion programme and, therefore, had the opportunity to access counselling nearly straight away. If a school is not part of the programme then a parent or guardian must source and pay for counselling privately because the waiting lists are so long in the public system. The school completion programme is good but is often overlooked. Unfortunately, the scheme is no longer operated by the Department of Education and Skills and is now provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which I do not consider to be a good idea. The committee should consider the programme and call for its expansion.