Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again thank Senator Carrigy for raising this issue. He is absolutely right to identify that it is important that we try to tackle absenteeism and focus our resources as much as we possibly can on those who are missing school days or in difficult situations. That said, it is fair to say that some areas of the whole programme need extra resource levels. The Senator made that point extremely well. I will certainly bring it back to the Minister and ask that she takes a county-by-county review of where this needs to be targeted individually. I thank the Senator for raising this Commencement matter. I will certainly make sure the Minister gets the massage. She apologises that she could not be here as she is tied up at the Cabinet meeting. The Department of Education and Tusla education support services will work with the schools involved on how the shared posts are allocated across the schools. To be very clear to the Senator, the Department is open to engagement in this regard. I will make sure it follows up on the matter. The point has been well made that those extra resources are needed.