Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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57. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 30 of 8 November 2016, her views on whether her Department with the Department of Health should enhance its role in addiction prevention and education, particularly with children and young persons that have low school attendance and, therefore, are not engaging adequately with the education system. [40180/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, under the remit of my Department, has a statutory responsibility to ensure each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The education welfare services of Tusla, comprising the statutory Education Welfare Service, the School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison scheme are key supports for children who are vulnerable to early school leaving and educational disadvantage.

Children who do not attend school regularly or who leave school early before age 16 or without completing 3 years of second level education are a priority concern for the Educational Welfare Service. Where school attendance problems arise for a child, Tusla's approach is to concentrate on finding solutions, within a collaborative intervention framework involving children, families, school and other relevant agencies, including those under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Health.

The School Completion Programme operates in 470 primary schools and 224 post-primary schools. The programme provides targeted supports to children identified to be most at risk of early school leaving or of not reaching their potential in the educational system. School Completion Programme initiatives include, breakfast clubs; homework clubs; afterschool supports; mentoring programmes; and therapeutic interventions as well as transfer programmes to support young people transitioning from primary to post-primary school.

Along with the School Completion Programme, the Home School Community Liaison Scheme is a core element of the integrated Educational Welfare Services of Tusla, serving schools identified under the Delivering Equality of opportunity in Schools (DEIS) action plan of the Department of Education and Skills. Central to both the Home School Community Liaison Scheme and the School Completion Programme, is the identification of needs and the provision of a tailored and proportionate response to those needs, through a range of interventions, which are evidence-based, focused and structured.

The Deputy will be aware that my Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities.In 2016, funding of €51m was been provided to my Department for these schemes.

From within this budget, my Department provides funding to projects that are located in disadvantaged areas where a significant addiction problem exists or has the potential to develop. The objective is to attract “at risk” young people into facilities and activities and divert them away from the dangers of substance abuse. These schemes target young people who are “at risk” because they live in disadvantaged communities and they are vulnerable to drugs, alcohol misuse, or they are out of school, or at risk of homelessness and account for 70% of the funding available to my Department for the provision of youth services.

In addition, My Department was represented on the Oversight Forum on Drugs chaired by the Minister for Health which examined progress on implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016.