Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Michael D. Higgins for raising this matter on the Adjournment. It offers me an opportunity to clarify my Department's funding measures and other support measures in place with the objective of assisting vulnerable groups such as the group in question to further their education.

In assessing applications for funding my Department gives consideration to interventions already in place and supported by my Department in the areas concerned so as to avoid duplication of effort and resource. The Department supports the educational element of eight teenage parenting support projects under the Health Service Executive's teenage parenting support initiative——

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