Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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38. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reallocate the school completion programme back to the remit of his Department from the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, specifically Tusla, due to its relevance to the education portfolio; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51804/17]

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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This question concerns the school completion programme, which used to fall within the remit of the Department of Education and Skills but now falls within the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. I would like to see the scheme back in the education portfolio, and I think many people would agree because it is much more suited to that area. Can this be examined?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The school completion programme is an integral part of Tusla's educational welfare service. While it is a key support for schools under the DEIS programme, my Department does not have responsibility for the programme.

As the Deputy will appreciate, proposals for the reassignment of ministerial and administrative policy areas are a collective function of the Government. There is no current proposal to reassign ministerial responsibility for this brief.

In 2011, following a decision of the Government, a suite of educational welfare functions, including the school completion programme, transferred to the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and later, in 2014, on the enactment of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, transferred to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

Because of the key role played by the school completion programme in DEIS, my Department has maintained a close working relationship with both the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla regarding the latter's work programme to support schools. Both the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, DCYA, and Tusla were closely involved in the review of DEIS and the DEIS plan of 2017, published earlier this year, which contains a number of key actions for delivery on an inter-agency basis by Tusla's educational welfare service in collaboration with my Department, including specific actions relating to the school completion programme.

In 2015 the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs commissioned the ESRI to conduct a review of the school completion programme and it is my understanding that Tusla is in the process of implementing the recommendations of that review. I should add that Tusla sits with us on an implementation group on DEIS, so it is represented and there is close collaboration between the two Departments and agencies.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I raise this matter because, as I said earlier, I am a huge advocate for the school completion programme. It is excellent. The general public probably does not know enough about it and all the good work it does because it is under the radar. That is what makes it so successful. While it is predominantly in DEIS schools, one does not have to be in a DEIS school to qualify for the school completion programme. A number of schools a number of years ago applied for the school completion programme and were successful and they take in children who would otherwise fall through the cracks and who do not necessarily qualify for other services, for example Tusla services. That is what is so vital about the programme falling back within the remit of the Department of Education and Skills. I understand it is not a decision for the Minister to make alone and perhaps this is a little unfair, but I would like to know his own opinion on this. Tusla is not the appropriate body for the programme because, while Tusla does good work in other areas, the key for school completion is to be tied in with the education system. The programme is focused on education, keeping kids in school and identifying why children might not complete school. While Tusla might have a role in that, many children will not get to the stage at which they come to the attention of Tusla but they might come to the attention of the school completion programme. They might have very minor difficulties or what we would see as minor difficulties for our children but what are major difficulties in their lives. The school completion programme can often intervene in many different scenarios and be very helpful. Since the move has been made, the co-ordinators have been falling through the cracks and they do not necessarily have a forum or a body to feed into through the Department any more.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I am not a direct party to it but a lot of work has been done on the school completion programme. The ESRI carried out a review, as did another body. They came up with recommendations to improve it. They in no way diluted the objective or tried to roll back on what the role and purpose of the school completion programme was. We have to acknowledge that we have had a huge surge in school completion with much improved school completion numbers. They have halved over the past decade and there are fewer people dropping out so this is working. The Deputy is right. When they are in separate Departments, we must make sure there is co-ordination but I am satisfied that this is there. Noel Kelly has taken over the school completion programme. He is now working to implement improved governance, an improved standard of delivery and all those good things that will ensure that children get an excellent service.

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I understand that governance was an issue but I also understood that the ETBs had made a proposal to the Department to manage the school completion programme because some school completion programmes are currently managed by ETBs and work very well. That would have been a better model to look at rather than moving it to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. What are the Minister's views on that? Is he aware of that proposal? What does he think of it?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Ultimately, the Department responsible will have to look at what is the best governance structure. It might be better if the Deputy put a question to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. It will want to put in place the best structure to ensure the best delivery of service. We will support it in its choice but it will make a choice based on a matrix of criteria which I have not seen so I am not in a position to say who would be best placed.