The issue I want to address this morning relates to education. We would all like school to be an enjoyable, stimulating, challenging and satisfying experience for young people, but that is not the reality for all young people. I refer in particular to those children and young people with behavioural, emotional and psychological problems. They include some children from the Traveller community, children from the new communities and children who live in chaotic families with dysfunction, violence or addiction. Certainly, all of those factors inhibit educational attainment.

What helps to either keep children in school or provide out-of-school work that will compensate or make up for their not being in school? The school completion programmes are central to this, because they target the young people whom I mentioned. The programmes' aim is to keep children in school at both primary and secondary level. There is a range of interventions: in school, out of school, after school and during holiday periods. There are also programmes that target parents. All of the interventions are action-oriented, child-centred and needs-based.

The school completion programme has been operating since 2002. Since 2007, however, those concerned have had to cope with cuts to their budgets, and they also have had to take up the shortfall from the cuts to the national education budget. They are taking on the provision of other services that were cut. An example is bridging the shortfall created by the loss of language teachers, visiting and resource teachers for the Traveller community and resource hours for children with special educational needs. The staff are also providing counselling and educational assessment. There have been cuts in the order of 30% since 2007. How can the staff be expected to provide the professional service they have been providing as well as doing the additional work? Where is the commitment to sorting out educational disadvantage and having a more level playing field in education?

And also keeping kids in school.

The Deputy will have seen that the Children's Rights Alliance, in its report earlier in the week, gave an "A" grade to the Government-----

They gave the Tánaiste an "F".

-----in regard to the development of child literacy and the national literacy strategy.

An "F" for child poverty. Total and utter failure.

In fact, it was recognising the significance and importance of the achievements across all schools around the country in respect of both literacy and numeracy. The Deputy will know that the report, which was published in the last month or so, actually shows the greatest improvement in 30 years in areas such as reading and writing in schools. That is a great achievement on the part of the schools, teachers, parents and pupils. It bodes very well for future success in education.

The Government has developed an area-based child poverty approach, which has been rolled out in a number of areas across the State. In those areas, as the Deputy knows, the school completion programmes are vital in encouraging children to stay in school and parents to become involved in their children's education. I am happy to say my Department has been involved in funding this. The aim is to bring the various organisations in any one area, including the school and the school completion programme unit, together with others and with agencies dealing with children in order to ensure a holistic approach to keeping children in school and helping them to achieve the best results in terms of their development.

As the Deputy will know from the budget, this year will see the recruitment of 1,700 additional personnel into our schools, split between primary and secondary, with approximately 700 additional teachers, 800 resource teachers and approximately 300 special needs assistants. As the moratorium on hiring is becoming a thing of the past, this is one of the first areas to be targeted for significant additional resources of the kind I believe the Deputy would welcome, in terms of the 1,700 appointments which will happen this year. Also, we made an announcement last week that the Deputy may have heard regarding small schools, which significantly improves the capacity of small schools in terms of staff and, therefore, the viability of such schools.

I am glad the Tánaiste used the word "vital" about school completion programmes, and I believe some of the successes she outlined are due to the school completion programmes. At this point they are in the middle of a three-year funding cycle, which should continue until 2016, but at their national in-service in November they were told that is not the reality.

When they were with the Department of Education and Skills and with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, their funding was ring-fenced. They are now with Tusla, and their funding is not ring-fenced. I am asking that the funding be ring-fenced and that their work with the most difficult and challenging of young people in the schools be supported. Their presence in classes also encourages the learning of the other students, so they are providing a service for the other students in those classes also because we want to make the educational experience positive for everybody.

We know the co-relationship between early school leavers, low educational attainment and our prison population. I do not believe any Government has been proactive enough on prevention. The school completion programmes are a vital tool in preventing young people from leaving and encouraging them into school. I ask that that funding be ring-fenced and the school completion programme supported.

Hear, hear.

I have had the privilege in recent months of being in quite a few schools, both primary and secondary, but particularly schools where there are school breakfast clubs. Notwithstanding the fact that resources have been very tight, I have been able to bring the funding for school breakfast clubs up to €39 million. That has been rolled out around the country.

That is an indication of poverty.

As I am sure the Deputy knows, in many schools the school completion people are heavily involved in the establishment, running and overall success of the school breakfast club. It is a very good space for children to come in to school perhaps a half hour early, sit down with their peers-----

It is very sad to be lauding the success of a breakfast club for children who have no breakfast at home.

-----in a very social environment-----

There are 240,000 children in poverty.

-----and have breakfast. I am aware that some DEIS status schools have not applied for school breakfast clubs. In recent years I have made additional funding available each year for the school breakfast clubs. If Deputies are aware of schools that have not applied for funding, I would encourage them to talk to the schools about talking to the Department of Social Protection about getting the funding.

I hear what Deputy O'Sullivan is saying about the concerns of the staff in the school completion programme.

In regard to Tusla, I will certainly undertake some inquiries about what that change has meant. Change is often very difficult for people. I am not au fait with the details of the change but I do know the people on the boards of many school completion programmes. I know the people who are working in terms of the school completion programmes, and they do vital work that helps children to have that extra chance to do well in school. Ultimately, we hope to be able to help them go on to training, third level education or an apprenticeship.

It is well known that in terms of people who end up in the prison population their literacy and numeracy standards often leave much to be desired but, happily, in the recent report we have had the biggest improvement in 30 years in all of the tests that have been done. That is good for every child in this country.