Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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396. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when the report of a review by the Economic and Social Research Institute on the school completion programme will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33195/15]

Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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397. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will consider ring-fencing funding for use under the school completion programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33196/15]

Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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398. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to set down the number of persons employed nationally under the school completion programme, the type of contracts that they are employed under, and the length of their contracts. [33197/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 396 to 398, inclusive, together.

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 at 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 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. Each project involves a cluster of schools working collectively to provide a range of supports and interventions designed to support individual children identified locally as being at risk of early school leaving within those school communities.

The review of the School Completion Programme by the Economic and Social Research Institute has been finalised and arrangements are being made for its publication in early October.

Since 1st January 2014, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme, including the allocation of funds to local projects. I am advised by the Agency that the allocation for School Completion Programme in 2015 is €24.7 m, similar to the allocation provided in 2014. Local School Completion Programme projects have been informed of their allocations for the current year. With regard to the future funding for the programme, this will be determined in the light of the resources that become available to the Agency in the annual Estimates and Budgetary processes. The findings of the Economic and Social Research Institute review will be important in this regard. They will assist in identifying the reforms necessary to consolidate the programme on a sustainable footing for the future, in shaping its further development and ensuring that it is in line with the aims of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the national policy framework for children and young people (2014-2020).

I have advised the Agency of my commitment to ensuring that there is no diminution in the School Completion Programme services. The School Completion Programme is an important service within the Agency's educational welfare services. It is highly regarded as a key response in securing improved educational outcomes for children and young people at risk of early school leaving.

The Agency has advised that the funding provided to projects in the School Completion Programme is used to employ approximately 2000 project staff (full-time and part-time) and a further 1,400 sessional staff at local level. The Agency does not employ any persons directly in the Programme and the terms and conditions of employment are as agreed by individual employers in the local projects.