John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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97. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the latest figures for school completion rates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30703/25]

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister provide an update on the latest figures for school completion rates?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The most recent figures available regarding school completion rates report on students who began their post-primary education in 2017. Of those students who entered first year in 2017, 90% sat the leaving certificate examination in 2022 or 2023. A total of 97.8% sat the junior certificate - now called the junior cycle - examination in 2020. While the latest retention rate to leaving certificate stage of 90% represents a decrease of one percentage point on the retention rate for the 2016 post-primary entry cohort, Ireland has one of the lowest rates of early school leavers in comparison with our European counterparts. Looking at the timelines, children who started in 2016 completed their leaving certificate or junior certificate during Covid times when there were no exams. Naturally, that led to a somewhat higher rate. A series of reports which record retention rate trends in post-primary schools over the past 26 years are available on the Department’s website. Of course, ensuring children remain in school as long as possible to undertake the leaving certificate and junior certificate is a priority for all of us.

In addition to the universal supports available to schools, such as school guidance and well-being supports, there are targeted supports such as the school completion programme, which covers 783 schools with a total population in excess of 250,000 students, and the Traveller and Roma education strategy. I know from speaking to members of the Traveller and Roma communities recently that their focus is on the junior cycle rather than just the senior cycle, unfortunately. Those numbers are very challenging at the moment. We need to do everything we can to support those students, particularly those who are most at risk, in order that they stay at school and achieve the best they can. Those supports are a key part of our response to supporting those children. They work in tandem with other supports, including the home-school community liaison, HSCL, co-ordinators and the education welfare service under my Department’s DEIS programme.

My Department, in conjunction with the Tusla education support service, TESS, is also undertaking a five-year plan to improve school attendance, as I mentioned. Those measures were introduced and announced recently. They are being rolled out. I wish to mention the Anseo programme, which is the new evidence-based framework to help schools analyse and respond to attendance data. This is central to everything we do. If we want children to stay in school to complete their exams, we need to make sure they are there in the first instance. That is feedback I am hearing strongly.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I firmly believe the Minister has made great strides on the issue of school completion. Initiatives such as free school books, hot meals, transport and even the school clothing and footwear allowance announced this week are all helping to encourage more people to stay engaged in education. Youth services have an important role to play as well. Some of the initiatives Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board, LOETB, has rolled out in my constituency are making a difference. While Offaly has one of the lower levels of school completion rates, we only get one allocation due to us having a double-county ETB. Our allocation is one third of what some of the higher allocations are for ETBs throughout the country as a result. I ask the Minister to acknowledge the need for youth services to work in parallel with the education process in order to support those dropping out of school completion at an earlier time.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I fully agree. Our youth services have such an important role to play in supporting those who are most at risk and in dealing with issues of attendance and providing that support outside of school hours. When we talk about formal education, our youth services are the informal side of that in so many instances. That is why I welcome that the area of youth has now come into the same Department as education because there is a role for both areas to work hand in hand.

My Department, which now has responsibility for youth services, will be rolling out new funding streams for the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme. They are important supports put in place throughout the country and administered through the ETBs. Each ETB will be able to apply for those supports and resources when the scheme opens. Similar to the situation in Offaly and Laois, Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, LMETB, encompasses Louth and Meath and, therefore, only has one application and will have a similar challenge. It is about building up the capacity in each county over time. Obviously, if we can benefit one county in an initial year, we will try to make sure those resources are spread as far as possible.

I acknowledge the work many of our youth services and volunteers do. They play a significant role in supporting children outside of school hours. They often support those who are most vulnerable. They have a positive role to play when it comes to school completions, school attendance and supporting children overall.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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While we see an increase in the youth population in Offaly, we also see an increase in youth dependency rates. That is a call more than ever before to see this funding allocated where it is needed most. In the context of the Minister’s previous role as Minister for Justice, if we can ensure this funding is allocated and effective, we mitigate the possibility of antisocial behaviour, mental health issues, substance misuse and criminality in general. It has an important role to play. We must look at what the likes of LOETB have done in recent times. It has proven to be so effective with limited budgets. We now need to see targeted measures across both counties, particularly in Offaly, to ensure we are doing this in an effective manner. I ask that, rather than looking at specific projects, we identify where geographically we need this and then we provide it on that basis in the months ahead.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In a lot of instances in the past, what happened with funding being provided was that we focused on specific projects because there had been specific needs in areas, whether they were related to drug abuse, crime, mental health or various different challenges that young people identified. What I want to ensure is that we are looking at the geographical spread. We know young people in rural areas are just as impacted as people in urban areas, although the issues might be different. The new programme and funding that will be announced will have a particular focus on geography to make sure we have that spread and that we are looking at counties and areas which might not have benefited to the tune or in the same way as some urban areas have in the past. That does not mean urban areas will be excluded. Obviously, it is about making sure everyone gets their fair share.

I reiterate, and I agree with the Deputy, that our youth organisations have such an important role to play in identifying and supporting young people at the earliest stages possible in order that it does not get to the extreme situation where young people are engaged with youth diversion programmes or the youth justice system. We must support them at the earliest stage possible. As Minister, I want to make sure I can do that through as many different streams as possible. There are a lot of different organisations across different counties and we want all of them to benefit.