I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment of the Dáil. The Crumlin educational support project was founded in 1995 to provide support for children who were not succeeding within the education system. The two schools involved are the Marist national school and Scoil Íosagáin. Children were selected for the project on a teacher and parent recommendation on the basis of the failure of the child to succeed within the classroom environment. The intervention involves social skills training, language development, decision-making training and work with artistic materials to develop students' skills. The project has been a resounding success. This is the view of the teachers, the parents and most importantly of the children themselves. Today, I met two nine year olds who are participating in the programme and they described it as "deadly". When one is nine years old, that means only one thing. This is the highest praise one could get for any programme from this cohort. The Minister can see how important this project is to everyone involved in it.
On 23 July 2001, a delegation from the two schools met with the Minister to seek funding for the continued employment of a child care worker who works with a support teacher in the shared school project. They received a verbal commitment from him at that meeting that the Department of Education and Science would fund half of the cost of the child care worker on an ongoing basis. Written confirmation of that agreement was to follow. It is now eight months later and the Department of Education and Science has not yet confirmed that the money will be provided. A number of pieces of correspondence have been exchanged seeking a simple answer to the question: when will the funding become available? Unless the project receives immediate funding, there is no money to pay the child care worker's salary. At present there are 43 pupils on the project. Without the child care worker, the project can cater for only 15 pupils. This means that 28 pupils will have to be removed from the project. Which 28 would the Minister like to see removed? Will the Minister inform the parents, teachers, child care worker and the 28 pupils that are losing out?
It is nothing short of a disgrace that the school has not received confirmation of the promised funding before now. There is enough money to fund the project for only two more weeks. A child care worker will lose her job and vulnerable children will be put at risk. The amount of money that was promised was of the order of €12,800 per annum. There is now a crisis in the schools. The schools already have disadvantaged status.
The Clancy report on participation levels in Ireland's third level colleges was published yesterday. It included Dublin 12 where these schools are located. The participation in third level education from this area was less than half the national average. Against this background, surely it is time to review the distribution of resource in our education system. What do these schools need to do in order to ensure that their pupils get an even break? Will the Minister give an assurance that the child care worker can be retained, that the money will be made available and that the children will not be put at risk by his failure to commit the funding that he promised for this project?