Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

When one speaks to individual schools, their comment on the National Educational Welfare Board when contacted about an individual child is that it is good in coming back to assist that child. On the issue of officers being able to visit schools uninvited and look at the difficulties, the drop-out rates and the failure to make transition, the board does not have the time or resources to do that because of the number of caseloads. Will the Minister comment on whether that is an accurate assessment?

The Minister has mentioned that there is a degree of overlap between the home-school-community liaison scheme and the National Educational Welfare Board. What is the level of communication between the two entities? Are there specific areas to which each should be assigned or should there be a greater degree of co-ordination between them? The National Educational Welfare Board informs us it is under-resourced and that it does not have enough personnel. While there is a need for many more officers, we must ensure there is not unnecessary overlap between the two entities.

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