Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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The Get Ahead Club is a community-based education charity in north Clondalkin that attempts to achieve educational equality, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. It has provided a variety of very valuable services such as breakfast clubs, homework clubs and other developmental and recreational supports and activities since 1994 for about 120 children per year.

Our understanding is that it was never funded directly by Tusla but was indirectly funded through the local school completion programme. Following a decision by Tusla to no longer allow the school completion programme to be used as a conduit, its funding position is unclear. My colleagues and I are trying to establish what the current position is. Is Tusla in a position to engage with the Get Ahead Club to consider funding it into the future because it is vital that this key educational resource for children in our constituency is not lost?

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Hopefully, the Minister can bring some clarity to this issue because there is considerable concern about the possible closure of this initiative. As Deputy Ó Broin noted, this initiative has been running for the past 25 years and has given children suffering from social and educational disadvantage an opportunity to access different services so it is imperative that it continues. I am from the area and relatives of mine have used the project and found it very worthwhile. Could the Minister clarify the funding mechanism for the Get Ahead Club, be it through the school completion programme or otherwise? It is important that she clarifies matters.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The reason my colleagues and I brought this issue to the floor of the Dáil is because a number of parents have expressed concern to us that the services that had been provided seemed to be in decline or might face closure. The Get Ahead Club has been in operation for 25 years since 1994 and has provided a wide range of services to children from four local junior and senior schools in the area who need extra support. It is very much done on a partnership basis.

It provides a breakfast club and homework and holiday support. I emphasise that in addition to working with children, the Get Ahead Club is also involved in developmental work with parents. Deputy Ó Broin clearly indicated that the club's funding had heretofore come in through Tusla's school completion programme. We are concerned that that conduit for funding is no longer available or that there has been a change to the programme. Parents are concerned that the service that had provided services to 120 children and young people year in, year out for the past 25 years is in danger.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputies for giving me the opportunity to update the House on the supports provided to children and young people by the school completion programme, SCP, in the north Clondalkin area. I will first give Members some background information on the programme. The SCP is a targeted school and community support service. It aims to support keeping young people in education through to the leaving certificate, equivalent qualification or suitable level of educational attainment, which enables them to transition into further education, training or employment. It delivers a range of local interventions in disadvantaged communities and enables those communities to develop strategies which are adapted to maximise the participation levels of those at risk of early school leaving. This involves working with individual young people of schoolgoing age, both in and out of school, and arranging supports to address inequalities in education access, participation and outcomes. I know from my own experience working in the area of educational disadvantage that factors from outside the educational environment often cause young people to drop out of education.

Some 124 SCP projects are currently running, covering 467 primary schools and 224 post-primary schools. The SCP is a key support under the DEIS programme and is operated by Tusla's educational welfare service, EWS. My Department works with that service to ensure the necessary resources are available to support the programme and ensure that staffing levels are sufficient to deliver a high quality service to those young people most at risk of early school leaving. Currently, the funding available to SCP projects for the 2019-2020 school year stands at €24.7 million. I am pleased to inform the Deputies that I prioritised this service and secured an additional €500,000 in resources in budget 2019, which will be maintained in budget 2020.

Two school completion programmes are currently operating in the north Clondalkin area, namely, the Quarryvale Balgaddy SCP and the Collinstown SCP. A total of €559,765 is allocated to these north Clondalkin SCP projects annually. The educational welfare service of Tusla has informed my Department that there have been no funding cuts to the Quarryvale Balgaddy and Collinstown SCPs, which work with children and young people at risk of early school leaving in north Clondalkin. I assure the Deputies that no cuts to funding are planned. The local management committees of these SCPs and the Get Ahead Club, along with the educational welfare service, participated in and supported a process to resolve governance concerns relating to the SCPs' funding and a third-party arrangement with the Get Ahead Club. All three local groups agreed on a plan dealing with these concerns in order to allow SCP funding to continue to meet the needs of local children and young people who want to attend, participate in and complete their education. This process has ensured that the total available budget of €559,765 is effectively used to meet the needs of those most vulnerable to leaving school early and not meeting their potential in the communities of north Clondalkin. Tusla EWS has no funding responsibility for other services being provided through the Get Ahead Club, such as community employment schemes. I am confident that the hard work being carried out by SCPs in the area will continue to have a positive impact on the lives of the young people they support.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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That is an incredibly frustrating response because it sidesteps the core issue about which we are asking. If there are governance concerns, they need to be resolved. We are not questioning that. However, up until the end of the last school year, 120 children received services - such as homework assistance, recreational development activities, and breakfast club - through the Get Ahead Club each year. These are some of the most disadvantaged children in our community. As far as we understand, those services have not been provided since September of this year. I am not stating that the club should continue just as it was before but I want to know whether funding is still available from Tusla to ensure that those services are provided regardless of the governance arrangements. As of today, that is not the case. Did those governance issues arise on foot of Tusla's decision to no longer permit the school completion programme to be a conduit of Tusla funding to third-party organisations? All we want is some clarity because services that were provided this time last year are not being provided now. The Department was funding those services and that seems to be where the problem lies at present.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am none the wiser after the Minister's contribution. Is it a governance issue, a funding issue or community employment issue? I am confused. Hopefully the Minister can shed some light on this. The most important thing is that this project continues. In addition, there must be confidence in the staff and among the people who use the service. If there is a cloud of ambiguity around this, it will cause confusion. The Minister needs to give more clarity about the funding arrangements and the governance issue. As Deputy Ó Broin stated, any governance issues must be teased out. However, the most important thing is that this project is properly funded, and we need clarity on its funding in the long term.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her reply. Like my colleagues, I am slightly concerned. The Minister stated that the process "has ensured that the total available budget of €559,765 is effectively used to meet the needs of those most vulnerable to leaving school early and not meeting their potential in the communities of north Clondalkin." We do not believe that is happening. While the money might be there, the activity does not seem to be taking place and therein lies the issue. We are unsure whether it is a question of funding, the funding conduit or governance. Something has changed, as parents have come to us to say that a service that was previously in place no longer seems to be there. The Minister states that the money is there and that the governance issues have been addressed. However, on the ground, the service that previously existed is not being provided today. I think I speak for all my colleagues when I say that, having heard the Minister's reply, we are still a little unsure about what is going on.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I have been informed that the local management of the SCP, the Get Ahead Club and the educational welfare service got together to discuss questions of governance. Together, they agreed to move forward with the use of the €559,765 in funding for school completion activities. That is what has been agreed and that money is for school completion activities. It is important that the Deputies know the Get Ahead Club participated in a meeting and is aware of this. My understanding is that the club agreed the way forward. If the club is raising issues-----

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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It is the parents who are raising the issue.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The club is presumably in communication with the parents. The money in question is to be used for SCP activities rather than programmes which Tusla has no responsibility to fund, such as community employment schemes. Tusla has no operational responsibility there. The Deputies might want to ask the club about that. It has been agreed that, going forward, the money will be used for school completion activities. I can check if some things have changed in the way the club organises its business. However, that is what was agreed with the educational welfare service and the local committees.