Cuts will condemn children - De Rossa

TENS OF thousands of children will be condemned to a life of disadvantage unless Government policy changes, Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa has said.

Speaking in Ballyfermot, Dublin yesterday, Mr De Rossa said a disproportionate number of children from disadvantaged areas like Ballyfermot left school before the Leaving Certificate.

He said education cutbacks would only exacerbate inequalities. “Research has shown that a disproportionate number of children from disadvantaged areas like Ballyfermot leave school before the Leaving Certificate, while one in three children from such areas leave school with severe literacy difficulties,” he said.

“Many children will struggle to catch up when the economy recovers, as it will.”

Mr De Rossa said the European Parliament had repeatedly called for greater investment in education to achieve social justice.

He said countries that had already reached the EU benchmark of no more than 10 per cent early school leavers by 2010, such as Denmark, Sweden and Finland, had seen the benefits.