Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 765: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he has considered the implications of his decision to reduce the number of post-primary special, personal and health education support staff by 50; his views on whether this risks undoing the advances made in local drugs task force areas in recent years in terms of reducing the numbers of children at risk of becoming addicted to drugs; if he will reverse this cut and, if not, if he will make a commitment that there will be no further cuts to this programme. [12746/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 766: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will make a statement detailing the way in which he envisages that the prevention pillar of the national drugs strategy can be fully delivered upon following his decision to reduce the number of special, personal and health education support staff; and the way his Department will deliver on its responsibility to monitor the substance use policies of schools. [12747/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 765 and 766 together.

My Department is reconfiguring the delivery of support for teachers in light of the current resource available. However, the SPHE support service for post primary teachers is not being reduced from the current allocation. Although the Walk Tall Support Service will no longer exist in its current guise, it is my intention that the support for substance misuse prevention be further integrated into SPHE support. It is widely acknowledged that while a strand of SPHE can be taught in isolation, it should be linked to each of the other strands of the SPHE curriculum in order to be at its most effective.