Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will not repeat what others have said but will focus my contribution on the school completion programme. Sinn Féin will be supporting this Bill.

As others have mentioned, the school completion programme was originally with the Department of Education but was transferred over to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs with the formation of the previous Government. The programme is a fantastic resource and is particularly crucial following the closures that have taken place over the last 18 months. It is clear that some students have been left behind while school buildings were closed. Recent reports show that some 4,500 students and young people did not return when schools reopened following Covid-19 closures last year. There is no doubt that contained within that number are vulnerable students who may have become disengaged through the closures. While the Covid learning and support scheme, CLASS, recently announced by the Government is welcome, it does not go far enough to ensure that young people who are at risk of becoming disengaged are supported and included. It is concerning that the Government thinks that potential regression can be reversed with a small number of additional teaching hours through CLASS. This temporary increase in hours is not adequate unless backed up by ongoing investment. Many schools that could benefit from the school completion programme do not have access to it due to the failure to expand DEIS, particularly band two, in recent years. Without an increase in funding for school completion programmes, many students will be at risk of becoming disengaged from education entirely. Sinn Féin believes that increased investment in the school completion programme is crucial to ensure that young people do not lose out, fall through the cracks and lose contact with education. We support the Bill today. I commend the Minister on it and thank him for coming to the House to discuss it.