Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the projects or meetings he has engaged in with an organisation (details supplied); the nature of these projects or meetings; the cost involved in joint projects his Department is involved in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13564/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Officials from my Department's Regional Office Service met with a representative of the organisation referred to by the Deputy in January, 2005. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the scope for that organisation and the state to co-operate on jointly-funded projects targeting children and youth in disadvantaged areas of Dublin, primarily Ballymun.

Currently, my Department is associated with a number of projects which are promoted by the organisation referred to by the Deputy. The lead government office in these projects is the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs which, together with that organisation, funds the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme, an initiative which is currently being rolled out as targeted programmes in three areas of Dublin which suffer from high levels of socio-economic disadvantage. The three programmes are 'youngballymun' in Ballymun, 'Preparing for Life' in the Dublin 17 area and the 'Childhood Development Initiative' in Tallaght.

Each of the programmes has a considerable focus on education and, consequently, my Department has had a significant involvement in their development. As the delivery of the programmes progresses, my Department intends to keep abreast of the challenges associated with implementation. Towards that end, a group of senior Department officials recently met the managers of each of the programmes to discuss education-related progress to date. It is envisaged that similar meetings will be held in the future as the need arises.

The State's contribution to programme costs is borne by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The only costs incurred by my Department relate to expenses arising from attendance at meetings and, at less than €8 per month typically, are negligible.