Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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114. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an assessment of the effects on Traveller children of the withdrawal of all major educational Traveller-specific supports; if he will consider reinstating State affirmative action such as upskilling and employing Travellers to be employed by his Department as community education workers and within schools and the National Education Welfare Board; and if he will consider reviewing his Department's policy regarding same​​​ as recommended by the Irish Traveller Movement​. [42201/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Current policy in relation to Traveller education is underpinned by the Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy which was launched in 2006, following wide ranging consultation with relevant stakeholders including Traveller representative groups.

The principle of inclusion is at the core of the Strategy and, accordingly, the focus of both current and future provision is on the development of a more inclusive school environment through the whole school planning process, teaching practice, admissions policies, codes of behaviour and whole school evaluation. In keeping with this principle, additional resources provided in the education system are allocated on the basis of identified individual educational need.

Recorded Traveller participation rates in education in recent years show an increase. The majority of Traveller students transfer from primary to post-primary education. Participation rates in the junior cycle have steadily improved from 1,598 Traveller students recorded in 2004/05 to 1,898 in the 2011/12 school year. The number of Travellers progressing to senior cycle has consistently improved in recent years from 260 in 2004/05 to 800 in 2011/12.

The Traveller Education Advisory and Consultative Forum of my Department is currently working to a thematic approach to address the core issues of attendance, attainment, and retention of young Travellers in education.

The Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy recommends that the development of community initiatives aimed at Travellers as education workers be considered and that any such initiative would require clarity of role vis-à-vis existing services such as the School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) and should only be pursued in a co-ordinated manner with other relevant state agencies.

The School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison scheme, now under the management of the National Education Welfare Board come within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.