Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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2. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has considered increasing the budget for the school completion programme in order to protect those who are identified as most at risk within the school system and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15216/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The aim of the school completion programme is to retain young people in the formal education system until they complete the senior cycle. The programme is designed to improve school attendance and participation of young people who are at risk of educational disadvantage.

It provides targeted supports annually to approximately 37,000 children. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has had operational responsibility for the school completion programme since 1 January 2014, including the allocation of funds to local projects. In 2016, Tusla allocated €24.7 million to the programme.

I am sure the Deputy is aware that the Economic and Social Research Institute reviewed the programme on behalf of Tusla and its report was published in October 2015. Tusla has taken a number of actions to address the findings of the review and to strengthen the operation of the programme for the future. It is a very important priority for me, as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, to improve attendance and participation in education, particularly for vulnerable children. The programme for Government commits to publishing a new school completion strategy to improve school completion rates further, particularly in disadvantaged areas. I will work closely with the Minister for Education and Skills in developing the new strategy and in the context of the Government programme commitment to a new action plan for educational inclusion. The aim is to secure good educational outcomes for all children, especially those who are at risk of educational disadvantage.

The Government will consider further investment in the provision of supports for young people at risk of educational disadvantage in line with the programme for Government commitments and in the context of the annual Estimates and budgetary process. I hope to be in a position to bring forward recommendations in that regard.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for her reply. I am very encouraged that the Minister is saying that supporting school completion will be a big priority of hers in this Government. As we all know, education is a hugely important tool in tackling disadvantage and taking people out of poverty. I am aware that the funding in 2016 was €24.7 million. However, the funding for that programme in 2010 was €31 million per annum and even at that level it was not an enormous figure. It has been reduced in recent years and I know the Minister would agree that these are young people who are among the most at risk in our society and who rely heavily on education in terms of their future prospects. These are some of the most vulnerable children and some of them are currently destined to be failed by an underfunded system. They face enormous pressures that are dissimilar to those faced in many other schools in the ordinary day-to-day classroom setting and they should be funded adequately if we are to get serious about preventing people falling through the cracks. This is a project and funding stream that needs to be expanded on. I am somewhat encouraged by the Minister's comments but it is absolutely essential the funding is increased.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I assure the Deputy that I absolutely share his deep concern on this issue. The issue is our children and especially those who may not have had the same kind of start that the Deputy, I or others in this Chamber have had. There was a section on funding in the ESRI review of the school completion programme. I am aware that there has been widespread dissatisfaction with the current level of funding at local level and that the impact of cuts in this programme has resulted in reduced provision in the context of growing needs. I do not find that acceptable but, having said that, reductions in funding have been applied proportionately across clusters but this does not necessarily reflect the level of need and the concentration of greater disadvantage in some local areas. Currently they say there is a lack of clarity about how funding is and should be divided within clusters with many arrangements reflecting historic decisions rather than need. I will take this into consideration when I am looking at this issue.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for her reply. There is much to consider and I am very glad the Minister is taking the detail of the ESRI review into account. This programme is being aimed at school attendance and is targeted at those deemed to be at risk, generally coming from a particularly marginalised and impoverished community. In that context, does the Minister consider that proposals currently in the public sphere to link child benefit to school attendance are counter-intuitive when one considers that the children who are diverted into the system tend to be there to support school attendance and are usually there due to insufficient support? It is a ridiculous proposal that children like this should suffer indirectly by linking child benefit to school attendance. In the last week a Government Minister has again floated this proposal. Many of these children come from homes that experience a plethora of issues and social disadvantages. There seems to be some ambiguity on Government benches on this proposal. I would appreciate it, as many in the sector would, if the Minister could clarify the Government's position on it and whether the Government will rule out any possibility of linking the two, which I think should happen.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the additional question on this issue. I referred to this issue earlier in the debate on the Adoption (Amendment) Bill because it came up in that context. As I said then, I am aware of the fact that we have a commitment to reform the monitoring of child benefit payments by amalgamating school attendance monitoring systems in order to address poor attendance within some families. That is contained in the programme for Government. As my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, indicated in response to some questions on this issue, he, Deputy Bruton and I have talked with our Departments, and I have talked to Tusla, to see if looking at the reform of the monitoring of child benefit would be an effective tool to ensure the school attendance of our children. To date, what has come back is that it will not be an effective tool and we are listening to that advice. That is not to say that I will not continue to have discussions. The Deputy is aware that my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Deputy Denis Naughten, has put forward some of these proposals. I will discuss and listen to him in that regard but as far as I am concerned I am listening to Tusla and the other Departments. It is not about cutting child benefit; it is about making sure all children who need our help with school attendance are given it. It is especially through the school completion programme that we can focus on that.