Yesterday was International Day of Education. While we laud ourselves as a country with high completion rates in mainstream education, as has just occurred in the debate between the Taoiseach and Deputy Paul Murphy, the fact is that many students are being left behind every year. The DEIS retention rate for the leaving certificate is 84.8% compared to 91.5% nationally. This has left alternative education providers and centres, such as the Cork Life Centre in the Taoiseach's constituency, to provide a second chance at education. They have been doing this with great, but often unrecognised, success. In 2018, the then Department of Education and Skills conducted a formal review of alternative education under action 88 of the DEIS plan. It has still not been published, although we know it has been completed. That plan is with the Minister and the Department. When will the review of alternative education be published? We cannot move forward with strategies for a sustained future for alternative education without this report being released.

The Minister secured record additional funding this year for the DEIS programme. The details of that will have to be announced, but I believe it could represent a 20% increase in additional cover for DEIS schools; in other words, an additional 20% being added to the existing cohort.

That will be good and impactful. We have provided additional funding to the Cork Life Centre. I will check with the Minister. The broader review should be published as soon as possible.