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

I fully understand where the Minister is coming from. My colleague Deputy O'Sullivan has raised the matter with the Minister by way of a Topical Issue debate. Both of us are very concerned about this. We have 55 children there who are being looked after in a very caring way. They are getting education they might not otherwise get. Again, I go back to the facility of which I was chair of the board for some years in Blackpool, which has 50 children at any one time. We had full funding and support. The facility is still there and is a success. I know the structure in the Blackpool Glen Farranree training centre, but it has worked for children who have dropped out of the education system, who are going down the wrong road and who need that support. Don O'Leary, who runs the Cork Life Centre, is the person who did the research project for me as part of his masters degree for UCC. He showed that 70% of the cases coming through the centre were in full-time employment five years later. It is likewise with the Cork Life Centre. There are success stories there and it is important it gets support.

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