Vol. 477 No. 7
7 Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for Education the number of children benefiting from Early Start, Breaking the Cycle, home-school-community liaison and teacher-counsellor services respectively; the proposals, if any, she has for further increasing the availability of these services to children in disadvantaged communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10175/97].
The most up-to-date returns available to my Department relate to participation in the services in question in September 1996. At that stage the following was the position: 1,566 children were participating in Early Start pre-school projects; 12,824 children were enrolled in schools included in the Breaking the Cycle initiative; 96,396 children were enrolled in primary and second level schools included in the home-school-community liaison scheme, and 7,829 children were enrolled in schools included in the teacher-counsellor scheme. All the schemes in question are being monitored or evaluated. The question of further expansion of these schemes will be considered in the light of the outcome of these evaluations and having regard to available resources.
