James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I echo the Deputy's sentiment that they need our support. I fully subscribe to that.

I will refer to the review for a moment because I think it is making people nervous and it should not. It is being overseen by a steering committee involving officials of the Child and Family Agency, my Department and the Department of Education and Skills, and it is being carried out by the Economic Social Research Institute following a procurement process which was managed by the agency. The review will seek to examine the programme and how it can best support an integrated approach to address early school leaving. It will analyse the interventions provided and make recommendations for evidence informed supports designed to secure the best educational outcomes for young people. It is envisaged that the review will be completed during the 2014-15 academic year.

I note what Deputy McGrath stated about deprived children at risk in non-DEIS schools. I am pleased to say that I was invited by Deputies Regina Doherty and Helen McEntee to visit Kells where we looked at one such school completion programme and I was impressed by what I saw. There were young men and women who are interested in what they are learning in these situations around cooking, for which they fortunately have a Ballymaloe trained chef, and woodwork. They have an excellent sculptor too. It is important when we bring children back into the educational system that we make available subjects that are of interest to them and with which they can engage, and thereby also bring in the other issues around literacy and numeracy.

This is an important scheme. If I were to put it in one simple line, the review is about finding out what is working and transposing that across the entire scheme to ensure, as we are duty bound to, that the money we spend is achieving the best outcomes for the children we hope to serve.

See this speech in context