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

I welcome the Minister's comments on his and his Department's commitment to the school completion programme. It is an important element of the agency's educational welfare services. More than anyone else in the Chamber, the Minister is aware that children from poor socioeconomic backgrounds have lower levels of educational attainment. One of the ways to improve this situation is through education itself, for example, programmes like this one that enable children from such backgrounds to stay in school and achieve their educational potential. This is how we will break the cycle. We have come through tough economic times and the Government needed to make difficult decisions, but we are now being told of a slow recovery and green shoots. Although the programmes in question may be small and do not require large amounts of funding, every cent that is spent on any programme that helps to keep children in school and to achieve their educational potential has a knock-on effect further down the line.

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