Vol. 509 No. 1
357 Mr. P. Carey asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will sanction the leaving certificate applied programme being offered to traveller children in St. Joseph's, Milltown, as an outcentre of Liberties College; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19955/99]
St. Joseph's Milltown is a junior education centre. The purpose of junior education centres is to provide education for young travellers of junior cycle age. It would be inappropriate, therefore, to sanction the provision of the leaving certificate applied, which properly belongs to the senior cycle, in such a centre. In addition, to do so would run counter to the thrust of my Department's policy which is to provide for mainstream education for traveller children in an integrated setting with children from the settled community while taking account of cultural diversity.
