Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State's response regarding the unchristian nature of this girl's treatment. I also welcome the response of the Department. This is an opportunity for the Department to look outside the walls of Marlborough Street in influencing policy. Projects and services throughout the country have been dealing with situations like this for many years, and in a supportive and positively outcome-focused way for girls and children.

Deputy Smith mentioned teen parents' support initiatives. I have much admiration for the Waterford student mothers' group which was set up more than ten years ago by a home-school-community liaison teacher who saw that girls who became pregnant were not coming back to school. The group's mission was simple. It was to ensure girls completed their leaving certificate because all the evidence shows us that if a girl does so, her child will go on to have a more fulfilled educational experience. The service is run by Barnados in Waterford and has been working closely with all the schools in the city and county for more than ten years. The group has a 100% record in terms of girls completing their leaving certificate.

I ask the Department to look outside its walls and put best practice and policy in place to ensure everyone gets equal access to education.

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