Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the positive comment the Deputy made across a variety of different levels. It is an important to note the school completion rate of in excess of 96% compared with an EU average of 84%, which speaks to the considerable achievement in this country on retention rates within schools. That is largely due to the considerable investment that has gone in. He referred to DEIS supports for our schools, with investment of more than €180 million last March, which was the single largest expansion of DEIS supports for our schools. We have specifically looked at initiatives like the provision of home school liaison officers, the school completion programmes, enhanced staffing through DEIS and all of that. The summer provision programme specifically looks at supporting children at risk of educational disadvantage and children with additional needs. Regarding children with additional needs, we are running a number of pilots to support students who want to transition from a post-primary school into further education opportunities. They are specifically for those with additional needs and considerable work is ongoing in that respect.

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