Vol. 511 No. 2
162 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will give details of his proposals to extend the pilot scheme operated by the Northside Partnership for discretionary supports to students from disadvantaged backgrounds to assist them with expenses, for example, bus fares and books. [23939/99]
I have agreed to provide funding to the Northside Partnership in respect of its higher education support scheme, which enables students from disadvantaged families to proceed on to, and remain, in higher education. A total of £150,000 has been approved for the scheme for the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 academic years. This scheme is a good model of best practice and its experiences can inform the debate on how to tackle socio-economic disadvantage and in particular, to promote access to third level among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
I am aware that other partnership companies operate similar further education support programmes and I have previously indicated my willingness to support the approach being taken by the northside partnership in other areas. In this regard, my officials are engaged in discussions with the Area Development Management Limited to explore how best to support initiatives being taken and indeed, to learn from the various experiences.
