asked the Minister for Education if his attention has been drawn to a report (details supplied) that a Youth Encounter Project in Cork has been closed, if he will outline the history of the project, with details of the staffing, funding, and activities; and if he will make a statement about the future of the project, and the reasons for its closure.
Written Answers. - Cork Youth Encounter Project.
348.
I am aware of the closure of the Youth Encounter Project in Cork. The project was originally organised in 1977, under the auspices of Ogra Chorcaí and the Cork Youth-At-Risk Committee, to provide non-residential communitybased facilities for children between the ages of about ten and 15 years who had become persistent truants or had become involved in minor delinquency or were at risk of becoming involved in delinquency. The general aims of the project were to improve the ability of the participants to cope with their environment (home, school and community), to develop scholastic and vocational skills and aptitudes and to foster positive attitudes towards themselves and their communities. The project consisted of an integrated school and out of school programme conducted by a board of management.
The project was accommodated in a premises rented from the Cork City Vocational Education Committee. The staff consisted of a principal and two assistant teachers, whose salaries were paid by my Department.
The project included both an educational and an out of school programme with particular reference to the need of the children for remedial and compensatory education. The out of school programme included recreational and training elements.
My Department received a request from the board of management last September to close down the project to give an opportunity to the board to review all aspects of its work to date, taking into account the experience learnt from the operation of the project. I acceded to the committee's request as the small number of children attending the school did not justify the continuance of the project in its present form. The question of the future of the project will be considered when the board of management completes the review which it considers necessary.