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

I know some were at that event because I was there myself. I know they have been included in the consultation process as well. In response to the Deputy's second question, in budget 2019 I secured an additional €500,000 in funding for the educational welfare service and the alternative educational assessment and registration service and I have maintained that in budget 2020. This has allowed the educational welfare service to increase its number of educational welfare officers to provide additional administrative support, which has allowed these educational welfare officers to focus on working with young people who are experiencing difficulties with school attendance. As the Deputy is aware, they work with the school completion people very closely. In addition, in terms of school completion, in my Department we have been working closely with colleagues in the Department of Education and Skills and local stakeholders, particularly in the context of a programme called City Connects, which is coming out of Boston College, and taking at look at it specifically initially for the north-east inner city. It is an evidence-based intervention that is committed to an ongoing and scientifically rigorous evaluation of results. Its strength-based programming works to the principle of progressive universalism. There is a desire to use this programme and to begin to put it in place there as a way of moving forward and supporting the school completion work.

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