Vol. 481 No. 6
76 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Education and Science whether he has set, or intends to set, specific targets for the numbers of children who leave school with no qualification, which stood at 3,600 in the latest year for which figures are available. [16687/97]
Following the National Economic and Social Forum's (NESF) report on early school leavers and youth unemployment, an interdepartmental working group to examine the NESF's recommendations was established. That group reported to Government and proposed, as a realistic target, the halving of the rate of unqualified school leaving by the year 2000, with the further objective of full participation by 2006.
I and the Government are committed to addressing this issue on a concentrated and co-ordinated basis. I have already announced a major expansion in the Youthreach programme for tackling early school leaving among 15-18 year olds. The number of places will expand from 4,525 to 6,250 in 1998 as an extra 1,000 places are provided, and an additional 725 places within FÁS are redeployed to provide progression options on Youthreach. This represents an immediate implementing of a specific proposal in the Government's programme.
It is my intention to go beyond these and to develop a range of interventions starting at primary level, which will identify and assist children in danger of leaving school early.
The provision of a range of curriculum options which address the needs of children who would not benefit from participation in the traditional, academically focused, curriculum, is also an important part of any plan to reduce early-school leaving. In this respect, the leaving certificate applied and the leaving certificate vocational programme are particularly important. I am fully committed to the expansion of these programmes and intend to ensure full resourcing for that purpose.
When taken together, these actions will make a major contribution towards reducing the number of children who leave school each year without completing this course.
