Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday was International Day of Education. While we laud ourselves as a country with high completion rates in mainstream education, as has just occurred in the debate between the Taoiseach and Deputy Paul Murphy, the fact is that many students are being left behind every year. The DEIS retention rate for the leaving certificate is 84.8% compared to 91.5% nationally. This has left alternative education providers and centres, such as the Cork Life Centre in the Taoiseach's constituency, to provide a second chance at education. They have been doing this with great, but often unrecognised, success. In 2018, the then Department of Education and Skills conducted a formal review of alternative education under action 88 of the DEIS plan. It is still not published, although we know it has been completed. That plan is with the Minister and the Department. When will the review of alternative education be published? We cannot move forward with strategies for a sustained future for alternative education without this report being released.

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