Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the investment the Minister has put into the centre over the past few years, which, as she has detailed, is €177,500, as well as the 6,000 co-operation hours. That is not in dispute and is greatly welcomed by all at the centre, including Don O'Leary and Rachel Lucey. I welcome the commitment the Minister has given to honour the agreement, as she has said, through the Review of Out-of-School Education Provision. Could the Minister give me some clarity in her supplementary response? Are we looking at that review concluding this year or next year? How long will that review process take? That is important. As the Minister has intimated in her answer, the issue here is the sustainability of the centre and other institutions like it right across the country into the future.

It would give people great peace of mind if they thought a conclusion to that process would happen soon.

I will finish with some remarks by the President of University College Cork, UCC, Professor John O'Halloran, in relation to the Cork Life Centre, when he conferred an honorary doctorate on Mr. Don O'Leary. He described Mr. O'Leary as a "true pioneer of education" and a champion for those who can flourish outside of mainstream school settings, given the right opportunity. He went on to say that staff at UCC had seen first-hand the work that Mr. O'Leary had put in to ensuring that no child is left behind. Don O'Leary and his team at the Cork Life Centre can only continue in that vein with the appropriate staffing. The longer we delay finding a lasting solution for the centre and its counterparts, the worse the outcome will be. Time is of the essence here and the Minister is well aware of that. I welcome her commitment and ask her to provide clarity on when the review might conclude.

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