Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I had the privilege of visiting the Johnson & Johnson plant in Ringaskiddy on Monday. This week is known as national corporate responsibility week, and 65 of the largest companies in Ireland are involved in helping students in certain schools to remain in education. It is a very important process for both the companies and the students. The programme has assisted more than 18,000 students to date. It is something that should be encouraged. Some of the biggest companies are involved in this project, such as Johnson & Johnson, Musgraves, IBM, Diageo and Ulster Bank. We were informed by a person from Musgraves that the company assigned seven staff to seven students in schools in disadvantaged areas to help those students remain in the education system.

Perhaps this is an area where the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation could work with these companies and schools to devise a national programme and get more companies involved. An explanation was given about one of the staff being assigned to a student who wanted to drop out of school, but because the staff from Musgraves provided mentoring, that student stayed in the system. It was a learning process for the company because they found people who could provide leadership to young people and who could then go on to provide leadership in the company. There is a benefit for the employers, the employees and the students, and this is something that should be encouraged.