Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept that major progress has been made on the provision of funding to the centre. The centre lost eight teachers in June who had an average of six years' experience. At any one time there are 55 students in the centre. These are students who have dropped out of school.

I worked with the Blackpool Glen Farranree Community Youth Training Centre where we had full funding. We had more than 50 young people who had dropped out of school, many of whom were referred to us by the Garda Síochána. When a research project was carried out on those children five years after they left the centre, 70% of them were in full-time employment. The Cork Life Centre has made great progress with children who have attended it who do not fit in to the formal educational structure. We must provide funding to it.

I do not say that any of the children attending the centre are involved in any kind of illegal activity. It was interesting to hear from staff from the Children Detention Campus at Oberstown who were before the Committee of Public Accounts recently that the cost of running it is €24 million per annum, which is more than €500,000 per student.

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