Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Bill represents an opportunity for a fresh start for the State's educational support services, including the school completion programme, the educational welfare service and the home school community liaison service. The SCP in particular needs to be placed on a firm footing in terms of its structure, governance and funding. What steps will the Department take to bring that about? Within what timeframe can we expect to see improvements in order to ensure consistent, structured and appropriate supports to vulnerable children and young people?

One of the most important factors in keeping vulnerable people on the straight and narrow is ensuring they remain in education and are part of the education system. In my portfolio as Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice, I regularly come across this issue. So many of the people who end up on the wrong side of the law and in prison do not have high levels of educational attainment. That is one of the issues that need to be considered. The issue of lower levels of education needs to be dealt with, particularly in the communities where people are most vulnerable. In many places throughout the country, young people grow up in volatile and turbulent family circumstances, do not have the kind of supports they need at home and end up very quickly dropping out of school and into the wrong company, as people say, although sometimes the child himself or herself can be the wrong company. That happens because of the difficulties that exist in such situations. There needs to be support throughout all of that for young people who may not be as academic or good at school as others and find school difficult and onerous. They can easily get into a situation that can lead to a turbulent and chaotic lifestyle that can end up in difficulties. We need to do everything we can to ensure that does not happen. For some young people in those circumstances, the simple reality is that they are let down by the absence of State services to keep them in school and ensure they can complete their schooling and go on to have at least some semblance of a normal lifestyle.

Of course, school completion does not have to occur in the usual school setting. There are many examples of various settings where this happens, such as at the Cork Life Centre. It specialises in supporting young people to finish their education in a non-school environment. Although I understand the Bill is more technical than a policy approach, it is important that we highlight initiatives such as the Cork Life Centre and similar settings where children can attain the applied leaving certificate, as well as the other vehicles that support and work for young people.

This move to ensure that we have proper structures in place will only work if those structures are properly funded and resourced. We must ensure that this happens.

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