Tony Gregory
Question:219 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Education and Science when his Department will appoint a representative to the RAPID area implementation team for Dublin's north east inner city. [21812/02]
Written Answers. - RAPID Programme.
I fully support the RAPID programme as there is undoubtedly a strong link between poor educational achievement and socio-economic deprivation. At present, the current structures of my Department are not fully convergent with the requirements for participation in the local delivery of some social inclusion and development initiatives. Unlike many other Departments and agencies, which have regional and local office structures, the traditional emphasis in policy in the Department of Education and Science has led to a rather centralised departmental structure. For this reason it was not possible to provide representation on each of the 45 RAPID area implementation teams – 25 urban and 20 provincial town areas – and this position was made clear from the outset.
However, following a Government decision that my Department should establish a number of regional offices, my officials, in consultation with the Department of Finance, are currently working towards the implementation of a programme of structural reform. This will help to address, among other elements, the capacity to participate in local and regional developments, such as the RAPID initiative.
While my Department, as currently structured, is not in a position at present to provide representation on each of the 45 RAPID area implementation teams, I have taken the following steps to ensure that my Department fully engages with the RAPID programme: an assistant secretary general from my Department has been nominated to participate in the work of the RAPID National Monitoring Committee; RAPID forms a standing item on the agenda of the social inclusion group, an internal committee chaired by an assistant secretary general that meets on a monthly basis; responsibility for co-ordinating the RAPID programme in my Department has been assigned to social inclusion unit which liaises with local RAPID co-ordinators and project sponsors who have queries about their projects or the type of programmes funded by my Department and this consultation process has been ongoing since the inception of the RAPID programme; and the RAPID national co-ordinator and his team of assistants have given a number of briefing sessions to relevant officials in my Department.