Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Leaving aside funding and budgets there are other issues on which we can be pro-active and the Minister of State touched on one. We need to plan further in advance. We know how many school leavers we will have and in what area of the State they live. We know what type of services are available. We need to put more emphasis on long-term planning. I urge the Department, the HSE and the Department of Education and Skills to ensure this happens. If it does not happen we will continually deal with crisis after crisis and nobody wants to see this. I do not believe any Deputy wants to see this year after year. Will the Minister of State take this on board and see whether there are ways we can improve how we plan for school leavers?

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