Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question. I am fully committed to the school completion programme as a strategy to address ways in which we can support our young people to stay in school, particularly in disadvantaged areas.

Regarding the audit which was conducted a while ago, I have described a number of steps that have been put in place working with school completion programmes on the ground during the past year and a half in order to begin to provide the support that will be required to ensure their effectiveness as we move forward. The employment and contract issues are serious. I appreciate there are rumours and concerns about what is happening. A process has been put in place to support them on the ground. I also put in place an expert panel, comprising officials from my Department and from the Department off Pubic Expenditure and Reform and Education and Skills and senior staff from Tusla, which is chaired by the CEO of Tusla. It is examining various issues with respect to the way to put in place the best model for the school completion programme in order that we can move beyond the employment and governance concerns and effectively ensure that our children stay in school as long as possible.

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