James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The School Completion Programme 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 young people who are risk of educational disadvantage. The Programme is a targeted intervention aimed at school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills’ DEIS Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. It provides targeted supports annually to approximately 36,000 children.

As with all programmes involving significant expenditure, the School Completion Programme budget was subject to examination under the terms of the 2011 Comprehensive Review of Expenditure. This process identified a requirement for savings of 6.5% per annum across the programme over the period 2012 to 2014.

Since 1st January 2014, the Child and Family Agency has operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme, including the allocation of funds to local projects. In 2014, an allocation of €24.756 million has been provided for the School Completion Programme. The Agency has approved local projects' school retention plans for the 2014/2015 academic year. The first instalment of 2014/15 funding issued to local projects last September. Further payments totalling approximately €9.5m have issued over the past month, with a third instalment planned for payment in May 2015.

The Tuam School Completion project comprises three primary schools and two post-primary schools in the areas mentioned by the Deputy. I am advised that an amount of €131,976 was allocated by the Agency to the project for the school year 2014-2015. The amount provided for 2014-2015 takes account of the savings requirements in the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure 2012-2014. The allocation of the funding across the range of interventions planned for young people and between the local schools in the School Completion Programme project for the area is a matter for the Local Management Committee.

The estimate for the Child and Family Agency for 2015 is €631 million, a 4.3% increase on its 2014 allocation. My Department has recently issued a Performance Statement to the Agency under Section 45 of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013. This includes my priorities for consideration in the development of the Agency's 2015 Business Plan. The Business Plan will set out the Agency's proposed activities, programmes and priorities for 2015, including provision for the School Completion Programme, in the light of the monies available.

A review of the School Completion Programme has commenced. It is being carried out by the ESRI following a procurement process managed by the Agency. The programme has been in operation since 2002 and I believe that it is timely that a review be carried out. The Review is an important initiative to plan for the future development of this Programme. Preliminary information gathered on the programme indicates that the School Completion Programme encompasses a broad and diverse range of measures and interventions that have been developed by local projects over the years. It is envisaged that the review will be completed during the 2014-2015 academic year.