Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to address my query about the Cork Life Centre. I had raised the matter previously with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the reply I received was incomplete, as, unfortunately, I believe she was not provided with the full information on the centre. This centre caters for young people aged between 12 and 18 who have dropped out of the educational system. Many of them have no family support. Some have come to the attention of the centre because of their involvement with drugs or alcohol and given their lack of family support, they are going down a very dangerous road from the point of view of their long-term health and well-being.

The centre was set up with the support of the Christian Brothers and this year they are investing €90,000 in the centre. More than 30 people attend it on a daily basis. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Six of the students sat the applied leaving certificate examinations and eight of them sat the junior certificate examinations. These are young people who are in serious danger. A report earlier this year indicated that 200 young people died over a number of years because the support mechanisms in place were in adequate to look after them. For many of the students, attending the centre has given them the benefit of taking a different route from the one they had been travelling.

At the moment the centre has a full-time manager and it will receive 960 VEC hours which equate to 1.5 teachers. It is getting very little support and yet it is providing vital support services for these vulnerable young people. I understand approximately 18 qualified teachers, who cannot get employment at the moment, work there on a voluntary basis. They give support to these young people on a one-to-one basis. Unfortunately, the Christian Brothers have indicated they are no longer able to provide the funding they have been providing in recent years. We want to ensure a proper structure is put in place for them so that the centre can continue to provide this essential service for these young people with a view to avoiding the tragedies outlined in recent reports from the HSE. I ask for that to be taken on board in the long-term planning for the funding of the centre.