Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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I thank the Minister, Deputy Reilly, for taking this Topical Issue. I am aware that he spoke on this topic in the past week or so and I very much welcome his commitment to ensuring that the school completion programme is maintained. Having said that, it is a reality that the co-ordinators of these programmes have received no certainty or clarity from Tusla or the Minister. They have not been informed as to whether there will be further reductions in funding next year or dramatic, deep-rooted change to the programme, or whether it will be overhauled entirely. That is causing a lot of stress.

I recently met nine principals from DEIS schools in my constituency and our local co-ordinator on the question of the future and security of the school completion programme. They have gone through a very turbulent time, which goes without saying, in terms of a reduction in funding. They have moved from a model of part funding from the European Union to the Department of Education and Skills, and are now under the umbrella of Tusla. There has been a lot of chopping and changing, which has contributed to the sense of uncertainty.

The service nationally has experienced a substantial cut in funding from €32.9 million in 2008 to €24.7 million in 2014. It is fair to say that while everybody understands the enormous economic challenges the State has faced since 2008, it is essential that the most vulnerable in our society are protected. It is also essential that programmes that are proven to produce results are protected, that their funding is ring-fenced and that they are supported and grow. That has to be a priority and I would very much welcome any statement from the Minister in that regard, in terms of a commitment to expanding and continuing the school completion programme because it is working. I know from first-hand experience in my constituency, which has some of the most deprived areas in the whole country, that children who are extremely vulnerable to mitching school and early school leaving benefit from this programme. It is working and all of the principals in all of the schools in my constituency would back that up 100%, as would teachers.

We are awaiting the result of an ESRI report on this matter. I understand it was due in March and has still not been forthcoming. It has not been published; I am not sure whether it has been provided to the Minister or Tusla but it has not been made public. It is anxiously awaited and, incidentally, ties in with the very good and comprehensive report the ESRI published in recent weeks on the overarching challenges facing DEIS schools. It was a wide-ranging report which investigated the effectiveness or otherwise of DEIS schools. An interesting recommendation, which I am sure the Minister has read in detail, is the concentration of resources on band 1 schools in urban areas, which are the most vulnerable and where, unfortunately, the least amount of progress is being made.

The ESRI recommendation focuses on DEIS schools but there is a reference to the school completion programme. It very clearly and concretely recommends the concentration of resources in the most vulnerable schools in urban areas. I would like to hear whether the Minister would support a similar focus in terms of the school completion programme, that is, the concentration of resources in the most vulnerable areas. It is logical and is what this programme is all about, namely, ensuring that every citizen, in particular every child in our State, is cherished and has equal opportunities. We know that is not the case.

The ESRI report on DEIS schools tells us what we already know, but it is worth reiterating. DEIS schools are more likely to have students who come from unskilled, manual or non-employed households, parents who have lower levels of education and families with lower household incomes. Children in such schools are more likely to come from lone parent families. There is a range of factors which are entirely predictable and mean these children are more vulnerable and require much greater intervention. I am very keen to hear the Minister's thoughts on that report and how it directly affects the programme.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. The school completion programme aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to improve the school attendance, participation and retention of its target cohort. It is a targeted intervention aimed at school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills DEIS action plan. It involves 124 projects and related initiatives operating in 470 primary and 224 post-primary schools.

These projects provide a range of supports and interventions designed to support approximately 36,000 children identified by local management committees as being at risk of educational disadvantage. Typically, projects offer homework clubs, breakfast clubs, mentoring programmes, learning support, social and personal development programmes, out-of-school supports, including music, art and sports, and a range of activities during holiday periods.

Since 1 January 2014, the Child and Family Agency has had operational responsibility for the school completion programme, including the allocation of funds to local projects. In 2014, an allocation of €24.756 million was provided for the school completion programme. The agency has indicated a similar allocation for the programme in 2015. It has approved local projects school retention plans for the 2014-15 academic year. The first two instalments of 2014-15 funding have issued to local projects, with a third instalment planned for next month.

The Deputy may be aware that a review of the school completion programme by the ESRI is almost complete, a point to which she alluded. The review is an important initiative in regard to planning for the future development of the school completion programme. The review will assist in identifying the reforms necessary to consolidate the programme on a sustainable footing for the future. The review is being overseen by a steering committee involving officials of the Child and Family Agency, my Department and the Department of Education and Skills.

The review will, among other things, examine the school completion programme structures and their fitness for purpose to support an integrated approach to address early school leaving. It will analyse the interventions provided and make recommendations for evidence-informed supports designed to secure the best educational outcomes for children and young people. It is envisaged that its final report will be delivered very shortly.

The Minister for Education and Skills recently published an evaluation of the delivering equality of opportunity in schools, or DEIS, programme which was also prepared by the ESRI, and which refers to the school completion programme as an integral support within DEIS in improving attendance and engagement in education, something the Deputy mentioned in her remarks. I would like to reiterate that I have advised the agency of my commitment to ensuring that there is no diminution in the school completion programme services.

The school completion programme is an important service within the agency's educational welfare services. It is, as Deputy Creighton and many other Deputies have said over the past number of months, a highly regarded programme and a key response in securing improved educational outcomes for children and young people at risk of early school leaving. As we all know, the longer one stays in education, the better education one will have and the better one's prospects in life will be in terms of the ability to earn a living.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I appreciate the specific funding that has been allocated for the 2014-15 academic year, which he outlined. The fear among co-ordinators of the school completion programme concerns the funding for the academic year 2015-16, which is fast approaching. When people are trying to plan for September and trying to put in place the various elements of the programme, they need to know they have some certainty.

The concern is over the delay in the publication of the ESRI report. Perhaps the Minister will be able to inform the House when exactly that report will be published. Perhaps he will indicate how long it will take for him to consider the report and, ultimately, take decisions on the future of the programme so there can be clarity and certainty for the schools, children, their families and the co-ordinators of the programme. It is really a question of the funding for next year and how long it will take until there is certainty in that regard.

My other question, which I appreciate the Minister did not yet have a chance to address, concerns a recommendation in the ESRI report on DEIS schools pertaining to the concentration of resources on the most disadvantaged areas. We do not know whether the Minister for Education and Skills will accept the recommendation but I certainly hope she will. Does the Minister envisage a similar concentration of resources, focused on the most disadvantaged children and areas, for the school completion programme? To me, it is logical and makes sense. It will ensure the most vulnerable children are protected and provide the sorts of supports they need to ensure they can continue in education and not miss school. It will ultimately ensure they have better opportunities in life.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. It is clear to me, given the number of times this specific issue has arisen in the Topical Issue Debate, that it is a matter of great concern to many Deputies and that its value is very clear to them. I believe in the programme. It has tremendous value and goes a long way towards levelling the playing pitch to ensure children at risk of finishing school earlier than they should will remain in the educational process. As one goes around the country and examines the various areas in which the programme is implemented, and the various ways in which it is implemented, one realises it is important that the co-ordinators follow the lead of the students themselves and find out from them what they are interested in. They should use this knowledge as a means of leading the students back into education and explain to them that if they had a better understanding of mathematics or another subject, they would be better able to pursue their interest in a certain area, be it carpentry, cookery or another practice. I have visited some of the programmes and noted they are very well run and are keeping children in school.

On the issue of concentrating resources in the areas of most disadvantage and need, that has clearly been the focus of this particular back to school completion programme.

Although the early childhood and child care education programme is universal and highly regarded by parents, with 95% of the cohort of eligible children participating, the children who gain most from it are actually the ones from the most disadvantaged areas. They catch up on reading skills, etc., when they get into class. Before this programme was in place, there was often a 30-point difference between those from more advantaged areas and those from less advantaged areas. I hope that helps answer the question.