Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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341. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of young persons who benefit from the school completion programme. [38978/15]

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 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.

As the Deputy is aware, since the 1st of January 2014, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has had operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme. I am advised by the Agency that the most recent data available covers the 2013/2014 academic year, during which 37,385 children and young people benefitted from School Completion Programme supports.