John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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361. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount he allocated to the Kilkenny school completion programme on the Callan Road in Kilkenny in the last five years; if he will ring-fence and increase the fund, given the level and range of services being provided and the importance of these services to the overall school community. [6992/16]

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.

Since the 1st of January 2014, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, under the remit of my Department, has operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme. As with all major spending programmes, 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 2014, the budget for the School Completion Programme has been maintained and has not been subject to any reductions.

A review of the School Completion Programme, undertaken for Tusla, was published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on 7^thOctober 2015. It presents the findings of an examination of the operation of the School Completion Programme and makes recommendations in relation to the future operation of the programme.

A range of actions have already been taken by Tusla aimed at strengthening the operation of the programme. Improvements have been introduced in the annual school retention plans so that there is a stronger focus on the outcomes to be achieved for children and young people in each local SCP project. Focused discussions have taken place with all those involved in the delivery of the programme on the review findings and how to strengthen the core functions of the programme. In addition, a new governance structure is being put in place at national level to support local projects in the development of the programme and to improve integration with the related Home School Community Liaison Scheme and the Educational Welfare Officers.

The School Completion Programme is an important service within the Tusla'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.

My Department, along with Tusla, is participating in the Inter-Departmental Group that the Minister for Education and Skills has established to consider the roles of different Government departments in delivering the DEIS programme in a joined up way.

The information requested by the Deputy with regard to the allocations to the Kilkenny School Completion Programme over the past five years is set out in the following table.