Vol. 557 No. 4
273 Mr. O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Science the moneys available in his Department for the RAPID programme; the requests he has received for funding of the RAPID programme; the funding which has been granted to the RAPID programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22668/02]
The RAPID programme is designed to harness the opportunities and resources of the national development plan through the front-loading and prioritisation of investment to the 45 most deprived communities in the country – 25 urban areas and 20 provincial towns. This does not involve additional funding to that being provided under the NDP.
To date my Department has received in excess of 280 proposals under both strands of the RAPID programme covering a wide range of activity. As the vast majority of these proposals were submitted after commitments had already been made in respect of 2002 funding, it has only been possible to support a small number of proposals this year. Further approvals will be considered by my Department in the context of 2003 budget allocations. However, there is already a very significant level of investment in the RAPID areas by my Department under the various programmes and schemes aimed at tackling educational disadvantage in the formal and nonformal sectors such as the home-school community liaison scheme, school completion programme, giving children an even break, third level access programmes, adult education and youth programmes.
Tackling educational disadvantage is one of my key priorities. 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.
