Vol. 558 No. 2
131 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Education and Science the projects referred to his Department for funding under the RAPID programme from the Dublin Central constituency; and the funding allocation he has made for these projects. [23847/02]
A total of eight proposals have been submitted for action by my Department from the Dublin north-west inner city RAPID area which, I understand, corresponds to the area covered by the Dublin Central constituency. These proposals relate to a number of areas, including adult and community education, early school leaving, school refurbishment and extension, and additional teaching staff. To date, I have approved funding of €75,000 in respect of three of these proposals in the area of adult and community education. This consists of €20,000 to support two pathways ex-offender projects and €55,000 to support Henrietta Adult and Community Education Service and the St. Vincent's Trust. The remaining projects are being considered by my Department in the context of available resources.
In addition to the funding mentioned above, I have recently allocated €2 million to the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee under the back to education initiative. This will provide important second chance opportunities in disadvantaged communities. The Deputy will also be interested to know that my Department has recently appointed two community education facilitators across the City of Dublin VEC area who will be a valuable resource to RAPID areas, including Dublin north-west inner city.
There is already a significant level of investment in the north-west inner city RAPID area by my Department under the various programmes and schemes aimed at tackling educational disadvantage in the formal and non-formal sectors such as the home-school-community-liaision scheme, the school completion programme, Giving Children an Even Break, third level access programmes and adult education and youth programmes. Tackling educational disadvantage is one of my key priorities and I intend to ensure that available resources are prioritised on an ongoing basis to target the most disadvantaged communities, including the RAPID areas, to overcome the barriers to participating in education and achieving better outcomes.
