Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter and I thank the Minister for making herself available to make her first presentations to the House on two issues which affect my constituency. After her contribution, I think a decision on the first issue is less than certain. On the second issue, the PAGE project, I ask the Minister to reconsider how decisions are made in her Department and the effect of such decisions

The project for adult guidance in education is Cork's response to a national development plan-funded initiative on foot of the White Paper on Education which outlined the need to provide guidance services for adults from disadvantaged communities, people who had undergone long periods of unemployment and people who were coming out of certain social situations, such as imprisonment, or had undergone traumatic incidents in their lives, such as the effects of residential abuse. Having first been funded in 2000 and since for a number of years by the Department, the project received a letter in December 2002 stating that further to the progress made by the project, the Department would fund it from 2003 onwards. Funding came through in 2003 and to date has also come through for 2004. Unfortunately, a letter was received by the project in December 2003 which asked for the project to be explained in terms of the original contract. Correspondence was immediately sent to the Department and no other contact was made with this project until August-September of this year when a cold letter was received by the project stating that monitoring had taken place and a decision had been made on foot of that. That is unacceptable in its own right in terms of ongoing planning, expectations and the quality of the service being provided, but it was even more unacceptable given that people recognised by the Department as being in need of such a service were availing of it and in view of the Department's lack of a discernible strategy as to how this service could be provided on an ongoing basis.

No communication has been made regarding what monitoring took place and what the effect of it was. The people who came down to undertake the monitoring in the interim period had given every indication that they were satisfied with the work being done on the project. Prior to the allocation of funding for the period 2000-05, the Department's analysis was that progress had been made in the earlier life of the project. The Minister needs to ask why this cold decision was made in such a way as to pull the rug from under so many people — those availing of the service as well as those providing it. She also needs to address the question of how the service will be provided from now on. If the White Paper on Education means anything it must mean that guidance services are provided to improve education standards and educational attainment which the conventional education system is unable and sadly, in some cases, unwilling to provide. The success of the project for adult guidance in education in Cork is that it provided such an opportunity for many people. As an elected representative for the area, I would like to know what measures will be put in place to provide such an opportunity for many people whom I believe will not, otherwise, have such an opportunity.

I accept the Minister is only a few days into her portfolio but I hope her background in the education system and her experience as an elected representative in the House and at various departmental levels will inform her that this is not the right way to make a decision, either in the short term or in the long term, for meeting the needs of those who are disadvantaged in society. I ask her to try to put this in the context of a strategy and a policy for adult guidance for disadvantaged people, which currently appears to exist on a wing and a prayer. It appears to be operating very much in the shadows and it needs to be given substance. When a system is up and running it is not acceptable for those who provide the system to get a slap in the face from the Department. I would like to see a better approach being taken. Reversing this decision would be a good way for the Minister to begin her Ministry.

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