Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 317: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the funding provided for out of school services and after school services in the context of disadvantage and generally across Government bodies such as the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Office of the Minister for Children and the Health Service Executive. [15120/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In the region of €730 million will be spent by my Department this year on tackling educational disadvantage at all levels — from pre-school to further and higher education. This represents an increase of over 60% and is testament to the Government's determination to prioritise social inclusion and ensure that all our children and young people get the supports they need to do well at school. Social inclusion measures across all Government departments have also been prioritised under the Towards 2016 agreement, the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-16 and the National Development Plan.

In the current school year, grants totalling almost €19 million were paid to schools to meet the needs of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds under DEIS (the Action plan for Educational Inclusion). These financial supports allocated to each of the schools selected under DEIS provides for the inclusion of after school and holiday time support — for literacy and numeracy development as well as homework support, social and personal development and arts activities. Preventative measures are also in place such as the School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL), with €31.160m allocated to the School Completion Programme for 2008. Under the School Completion Programme children at risk of early school leaving are targeted for a variety of extra supports, educational and non-educational, during and outside of school time — all aimed at encouraging them to stay in school. The Home School Community Liaison Scheme helps to get parents involved in their children's education, which as we all know is a crucial component of convincing young people of the value of education.

After-school activities are delivered as part of the School Completion Programme and homework clubs in particular are a widely implemented support to provide students with a structured environment to complete homework. After-School Supports provided under the School Completion Programme focus on the personal and social development of young people, aiming to enrich their overall educational experience by providing fun activities that tap into the many talents of young people. Programmes that focus on activities like Drama, Music, Art, Craftwork and Sport enable children to develop a range of creative and sporting skills. These activities help to boost self-esteem, have positive consequences for the classroom and are particularly important for academically weaker students. The provision of Out-of-School supports is also one of the four central supports of the School Completion Programme.

In addition €1.7m has been allocated under Dormant Accounts for a new scheme to enable DEIS Band 1 Schools in Limerick City to open after school hours (2008 Programme). This scheme has been developed as part of the Department's response to the education related recommendations contained in John Fitzgerald report, 'Addressing issues of Social Exclusion in Moyross and other disadvantaged areas of Limerick City: Report to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion. The recommendations of the Fitzgerald report were accepted in full by Cabinet.

The scheme aims to support up to 22 DEIS Band 1 schools in Limerick City to enable them to make the school premises and its facilities available to children and the wider community after school hours at the weekend and during school holidays. The school premises would be available for a wide range of activities, including homework clubs, drama, art & craft, adult literacy, and sports etc. The Government is conscious that tackling social exclusion requires a whole of Government response and that many Departments have roles to play in addressing disadvantage. The Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, supported by the Senior Officials Group on Social Inclusion and the Office for Social Inclusion provides the necessary coordination to ensure the development, coordination and drive for Social Inclusion Policy developments and Ireland's commitments under Towards 2016 and the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion 2007 -2016.