Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, the staff employed in the Cork Life Centre, under the co-operation hours arrangement with Cork ETB, are employed under terms and conditions, including the pay scale, in line with arrangements that apply to settings outside the recognised school system. However, as I have made very clear, I have met with the centre and I am very conscious of the work it does. The issues the centre has raised will be addressed via the review of the out-of-school education provision. In the interim, to be clear, the Department has provided significant funding to Cork Life Centre in recent years and, in 2022 alone, significant funding of €177,500 was provided. That is in addition to the 6,000 co-operation hours funded by the Department of Education and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. I am fully committed to driving on the review. It will support centres like Cork Life Centre and others in this sector. We will do that as speedily as possible.

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