Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the amount spent annually since 2006 to date in 2009 on alcohol and drug awareness sessions in schools; the number of schools that received these classes annually since 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12500/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Government announced in 1995 measures to combat the use of drugs in response to a notable change that had emerged in the pattern of substance abuse in Ireland with evidence that some children at primary school age were misusing substances. To counteract this a number of initiatives were taken. These included a decision to develop a Substance Misuse Prevention Programme (SMPP) aimed at Primary Schools for a defined, initial period of three years. In January 1999 an expansion of the project was announced. A sum of almost €5m has been allocated in total to this programme since the project commenced.

Set out below are statistics on activity for SMPP since 2006. Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) has been a mandatory subject on the Junior Cycle curriculum of post primary schools since September 2003. 'Substance Use' is one of ten modules in the SPHE curriculum. The approach is student centred and the issue of drugs is addressed each year in an incremental way and in an age appropriate manner. It is not possible to decipher how much funding has been spent on this module of the SPHE curriculum but I can inform the Deputy that since 2006 my Department has provided funding of almost €4m in budget and personnel costs for the SPHE post primary support service.

To date in 2009, 517 teachers attended various SPHE cluster inservice events and 553 teachers/staff received school based SPHE training/support.

Number of Teachers who attended various SPHE cluster inservice training:

2008 — 1,976;

2007 — 1,914;

2006 — 2,247.

In addition, in these years a number of schools also received school based support.

From Sept 2008 to December in the current school year the support service has provided support to the following:

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 246: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the annual cost of the trained tutors for the substance abuse prevention programme On My Own Two Feet since 2006 to date in 2009; the approximate cost to roll out this programme to every second level school here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12501/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Prior to September 2000 'On My Own Two Feet' was a stand alone Substance Abuse Prevention Programme, since then it has been subsumed as one of 10 modules in Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE).

It is not possible to separate how much funding has been spent on this module of the SPHE curriculum but I can inform the Deputy that since 2006 my Department has provided funding of almost €4m in budget and personnel costs for the SPHE post primary support service.

SPHE is part of the Junior Cycle programme and all schools are expected to have SPHE time-tabled in each of the three years. Schools have and continue to receive the On My Own Two Feet programme (available on CD) in the context of teacher training and engagement with the SPHE Support Service.

The 10 Regional Teams offer the Substance Abuse Prevention Module as part of their menu of inservice offered to all post primary schools in the autumn and spring terms.

SPHE Support Service (Post-primary) is a partnership between the Department of Education and Science, the Department of Health and Children, and the Health Service Executive.