Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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168. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the school completion programme funding cuts which is having a serious effect in Tallaght west, Dublin 24; if he will detail contacts his Department is making with the schools in the area affected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34892/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The School Completion Programme (SCP) aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to generally improve the school attendance, participation and retention of its target cohort. The SCP is a targeted intervention aimed at those school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills’ DEIS Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. It involves 124 locally managed projects and related initiatives operating across 470 primary and 224 post-primary schools to provide targeted supports to approximately 36,000 children and young people. The programme's project model approach gives local communities the autonomy to devise innovative approaches to address the needs of young people most at risk of early school leaving.

As with all major spending programmes, the SCP budget was subject to examination under the terms of the 2011 Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE) 2012 - 2014. This process identified a requirement for savings of 6.5% per annum across the programme over the period 2012 to 2014. Allocations to local SCP projects for each of the school years in question have been determined on the basis of these savings requirements.

Since its establishment the Child and Family Agency has operational responsibility for the SCP, including the allocation of exchequer funding to projects within the programme.

I have been advised that payments to the local projects in respect of the 2014/2015 academic year commenced in September 2014 and that formal letters, confirming the annual allocations, and the time-table for the staged payments up to May/June 2015 will issue to local projects shortly.

Allocations to SCP projects in the general Tallaght/Dublin 24 area will total over €1.3 million in the current academic year.

I am aware that following a request from my Department officials of the Agency offered to meet with participating schools in the Tallaght area in May 2014, to discuss funding. I understand that these meetings have yet to take place. I am advised that officials remain available to meet with the projects in question, to discuss their plans for the year and how best they may be supported to meet their objectives to support young people within the funding available to the school completion programme at this time.

The potential for any changes in the funding allocated to the Child and Family Agency for the SCP in future years is a matter to be considered in the annual estimates and budgetary processes having regard to the resources available to the Government.