Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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The decision by the Department of Education and Science to cut funding for programmes providing for the development of targeted educational responses to children at risk is shameful and a prime example of cutbacks being directed at those who stand to suffer most. These cutbacks are swingeing and very shortsighted if one considers what those funds are achieving at local level. I am particularly familiar with the situation in the Fingal Centre for the Unemployed in Finglas, a facility in my constituency that provides support for potential early school leavers and young people who are struggling in some way. Recently it was informed by the Department of Education and Science that funding for its opt-in programme has been cancelled not just for next year, but for this year also.

Opt-in is designed to counter disadvantage by engaging with young people identified as being at risk through 12 second level schools in Finglas and surrounding areas and to provide focused interventions such as intensive summer programmes and ongoing one-to-one support with a view to assisting each young person meet his or her potential and engage in meaningful education. Each year, the programme supports more than 40 young people who are described as "highly at risk" and also works with 12 local schools in delivering vital preventive measures to these young people.

The programme has been running very successfully for the past 14 years and in that time has assisted almost 500 young people. I ask the Minister of State not to simply take my word for it, but to consider what has happened in the Finglas area and the testimonials from local schools that have availed of the programme. A representative of Beneavin De La Salle college has stated that the programme has proved beneficial for the target group of potential early school leavers. The school reported that only one of all the boys referred to it left school prior to completion of leaving certificate examinations, which is an excellent record. The representative said that of particular benefit are the summer months projects when these young people are deciding the path in life to follow. The summer holidays between two school years for secondary school boys is a critical time and the opt-in programme is that point of contact that keeps them engaged and motivated to stay on in school. It has been extremely successful in doing so.

A representative of another school in Finglas, Patrician College, said that every child has benefited from the programme and it has prevented several students from dropping out of school. A representative of another school St. Dominic's college in Cabra wrote:

May I take this opportunity to thank you and your colleagues for all the real and tangible support you have given to many of our most at-risk students over the years. Your professional work with them has changed their lives for the better and they have gone into the world as more responsible citizens which benefits all of us. The amount of work done is incalculable. I hope that in these difficult economic times you are allowed to continue the invaluable work you are doing. The consequences of your work not being allowed to go forward would be too much to contemplate.

The programme only costs €82,000 per year. On an annual basis, a relatively small amount of money has enabled 40 young people to remain engaged in the education system up to leaving certificate level. It has been a very cost-effective and worthwhile project, as testified by all the local schools.

I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister for Education and Science to revisit this decision, which strikes me as being penny wise but pound foolish. It is in nobody's interest that these young people would drop out of school before completion of the leaving certificate and end up dependent on welfare and probably finding it very difficult to find future employment. Goodness knows in what other undesirable activities they may get involved.

This is a very practical programme with proven results which can be seen and which have been praised, not only by local schools but by the Department itself. I ask the Minister of State to make representations to the Minister for Education and Science to reverse this cut, which is very short-sighted. I ask especially that steps be taken to ensure that the funding already committed to for the current year of 2008, and which has already been spent, will be reimbursed to the Fingal ICTU centre. The money has been spent as borrowings etc. were committed to. Serious consideration must be given to funding this initiative into the future as it has been so worthwhile.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Education and Science sends his apologies and has asked me to clarify the issues raised by the Deputy, particularly the Department's position on the project in question and the fund for the development of targeted educational responses to certain children at risk.

The Department of Education and Science has funded projects under this fund since 1999 with a total of €1.269 million provided annually. The main objective of the fund was to develop preventative and supportive programmes, which are targeted at children and young people who are at risk of educational disadvantage and social exclusion. The funding of proposed projects was based on an annual application process and all successful applicants were informed that commitment to funding was not given beyond one year and that no liabilities should be entered into which assumed the continued availability of funding in future years.

Typically, homework support and after school projects, early school leaving projects, mentoring and alternative provision for out of school children have been supported where they could not be accommodated through mainstream funding and where it was demonstrated that there was a gap in provision. With the introduction and expansion of the school completion programme, SCP, many projects which were funded by this fund have been integrated and into SCP projects.

Given the current volatile and challenging economic climate, difficult decisions have had to be made in order to contain public sector spending. Tax revenues are down significantly and Government expenditure has to reflect this reality. One of these decisions involves the discontinuation of the fund for the development of targeted educational responses to certain children at risk. Only commitments entered into at this time will be met from the funds for 2008. These commitments will extend to seven projects which are due to be evaluated by the Departments inspectorate in the near future. Support for all other projects will be discontinued and no consideration will be given to new applications in future years.

The main focus of social inclusion measures will be to retain resources in schools participating in DEIS and the action plan for educational inclusion. The Department of Education and Science intends to continue to focus targeted resources on the schools serving the most disadvantaged communities and this approach is in line with the broad thrust of the recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which are set out in his report on primary disadvantage of 2006, which recommended that the Department should focus its educational disadvantage measures on those schools most in need.

DEIS, the action plan for educational inclusion, is being rolled out on a phased basis over the period 2005-10 and focuses on addressing the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities, from pre-school through second-level education, those aged three to 18 years. The action plan provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated school support programme. It brings together and builds upon a number of existing interventions in schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage. There are 876 schools in DEIS, which comprises 673 primary schools and 203 second-level schools, with 27 schools in the Finglas and Cabra areas -19 primary and eight post-primary are currently participating in DEIS and receive supports.

Such supports include reduced class sizes of 20:1 in junior and 24:1 in senior classes for band 1 primary schools, additional non-pay and capitation allocation based on their level of disadvantage, a financial allocation under the schools books grant scheme, access to numeracy and literacy supports and programmes at primary level, access to home school community liaison services; access to the school completion programme, enhanced guidance counselling provision at post-primary level, access to the junior certificate schools programme and the leaving certificate applied and provision for school library and librarian support for the post-primary schools with highest concentrations of disadvantage.

There are currently four school completion projects in Finglas and Cabra, which are in receipt of over €1 million in total annually, targeting approximately 900 young people. The objective of the school completion programme is to provide a range of interventions in areas of disadvantage that support the retention of young people in education and to develop local strategies to ensure maximum participation levels in the education process. This entails targeting individual young people of school-going age, both in and out of school, and arranging supports to address inequalities in education access, participation and outcomes.

There is considerable overlap between the aims, objectives and the services provided by the school completion programme and the project in question. In order to avoid duplication of effort and resources, it would be inappropriate for the Department of Education and Science to continue to provide funding to this project in the current economic climate.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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That is not true. A commitment was given for this year.