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

I apologise for not having time to answer the Deputy's question in my previous reply. As I indicated in response to another Deputy, I have secured funding for 2018. The programme is under evaluation by the centre for effective services. I would expect a report to be delivered to me in the near future so I can review the evaluation of the impact of this provision. So far, the signs are positive. If the evaluation is positive, we will review the overall approach to see whether it is something we wish to continue. For example, we will look at the exact locations. We will consider whether we want to open it up and, if so, whether sufficient resources are available to facilitate this. We will think about other ways in which we can support the overall ultimate aim of reducing children's poverty in disadvantaged communities.

See this speech in context