Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I raise this issue because it is incredibly important for the inclusion, prospects and efforts of 60 young mothers to escape from the cycle of poverty. I refer to the Young Mothers in Education project in Galway city. Question No. 442 in my name was tabled in on 12 February 2008 and answered with Question No. 465 tabled by Deputy Pádraic McCormack. The Minister's reply indicated that she regarded the project as duplication in light of her Department's funding of teenage parenting support projects. Unfortunately, the facts are different. The Young Mothers in Education project precedes the projects to which the Minister referred and has been in place since 1999. It was funded through the hospital in Galway until 2004, while from 2004 until 2006 it received funding under the special projects for youth in the Department of Education and Science.

A further contradiction is that the teenage pregnancy programme frequently used the Young Mothers in Education project for the education component of its project. The latter programme was in place before the former project and had a remarkable success rate. Last Saturday, many of the mothers who had been through the programme reported on their experience. The mothers in question are aged up to 25 years and are not all teenagers. Some of them are married, while others are in different types of relationship. One is enrolled for a PhD in University College Galway, while a second is doing a master's degree at the college. Participants have had considerable success.

The Young Mothers in Education programme advises participants on all the options available to them in education, arranging child care, form filling and other matters. The mothers attending the meeting spoke about the time, space and energy needed in the evening to study.

The project has applied to the Department for funding since 2002. Having received special funding in 2004, 2005 and 2006, it had a reasonable expectation that the plug would not be pulled in 2007-08. I understand the funding required amounts to €50,000 to €60,000, which is used by the project officer and would trigger funding from other sources to enable the scheme to continue. The future of the project is at stake.

I urge the Minister not to read out again the reply to my parliamentary question, which contains some factual errors in that it fails to recognise the true history of the project. When I was requested to table a question, I was asked what project 60 mothers could go to if the Young Mothers in Education project is left unfunded. I appeal to the Minister to reconsider. The project could be funded for the period 2007-08, after which a review could be carried out to determine how it could be integrated with another project. It should not be left without funding as this would put 60 mothers and their families at risk of being dumped back into a cycle of poverty. The achievements of the project have been incredibly valuable and it is deeply appreciated. Last Saturday, when former participants in the project returned to report on their experiences, they all gave a testament to this fact. I ask the Minister to review the position to determine whether funding can be provided in some form to enable this good work to continue.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Michael D. Higgins for raising this matter on the Adjournment. It offers me an opportunity to clarify my Department's funding measures and other support measures in place with the objective of assisting vulnerable groups such as the group in question to further their education.

In assessing applications for funding my Department gives consideration to interventions already in place and supported by my Department in the areas concerned so as to avoid duplication of effort and resource. The Department supports the educational element of eight teenage parenting support projects under the Health Service Executive's teenage parenting support initiative——

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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The Minister is repeating her reply to my parliamentary question.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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This is the answer which sets out the facts.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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No, it sets out a refusal.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Minister must be allowed to conclude.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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It would be inappropriate to support a second initiative in an area which provides a similar service to the same target group.

Funding has been committed in 2008 to the eight teenage parenting support projects as a specific gender element of the school completion programme under DEIS in preventing early school leaving among teenage mothers. Links have been established between local school completion projects in these areas, assisted by the national co-ordination team and the teenage parenting support initiative co-ordinators. The aim of these projects is to enable young women who are pregnant and young mothers to stay in second level education and progress to third level education or training. The project does this by providing individual support, information and grinds where necessary. Young people participating in teen parenting support programmes are targeted in school, out of school and in higher and further education, giving them the opportunity to reach their full potential through continued participation in education and training. This will improve their life opportunities and reduce the likelihood of the young family experiencing poverty and social exclusion and being long-term dependants on State support.

Single parents are target-groups of two further education programmes, the back to education initiative and vocational training opportunities scheme. Grants towards the cost of child care are given to VECs to be used to assist with the provision of child care support for learners in the vocational training opportunities scheme, Youthreach, senior traveller training centres and back to education initiative. The aim of this support is to attract people whose attendance is currently prevented by child care responsibilities to enrol on these programmes. Parents and guardians generally may avail of these grants.

Greater affordability of child care, linked to the creation of additional child care places, has been a key principle in the previous and current national development plans. The Government has provided unprecedented levels of funding for child care in recent years. A sum of €499.3 million was allocated to the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, EOCP, 2000-2006 and some 41,000 places will have been created by the time the programme finishes.

Child care provision will continue to attract substantial investment under the new National Child Care Investment Programme 2006-2010. A sum of €575 million has been allocated to the new programme, which will be administered by the Office of the Minister for Children and aims to provide a proactive response to the development of quality child care services by supporting the creation of an additional 50,000 places. The Government also introduced the early childhood supplement of €1,000 per child under six years to help parents with child care costs.

The Government discussion paper, Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents, put forward proposals for the expanded availability and range of education and training opportunities for lone parents; the extension of the national employment action plan to focus on lone parents; focused provision of child care; improved information services for lone parents; and the introduction of a new social assistance payment for low income families with young children.

A sub-group of the senior officials group on social inclusion, on which my Department is represented, is working on an implementation plan to progress the non-income recommendations. Work on the development of this implementation plan is progressing. Issues, including access to child care support, education, training and activation measures, continue to be discussed with the relevant Departments and agencies.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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To which project will the 60 mothers go?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In this regard, my Department is co-operating with the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the Office of the Minister for Children and FÁS in testing the non-income activation proposals in Coolock in Dublin and Kilkenny.

My Department also received an application on behalf of the group in question to be considered for funding in 2008 under my Department's special projects for youth scheme in the youth work sector, which comes under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Haughey. Pending completion of the 2008 funding allocations process for the youth work sector and owing to budgetary constraints and the high level of existing commitments in the youth work sector, I am not in a position to make any commitments with regard to funding for the group in question on the youth work side.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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That was a disgraceful reply.