After-school projects which cater for children in the Tallaght/Clondalkin area are calling on the Government for funding so they can resume when schools return in September.
Some 165 children have signed up for the projects this year which are run by the South Dublin Urban Initiative (SDUI). The projects involve local children between the ages of seven and 15 being assisted with their homework and literacy skills after school.
According to SDUI, the cost of funding the projects for the Department of Education is £1,500 per child per annum. The group said it had not received a Government commitment of funding for what it described as "one of the country's most successful education disadvantage programmes".
An evaluation on the projects carried out by a researcher from UCD found that 86 per cent of the 90 students who participated last year had remained in school. Ms Margaret McGlynn, SDUI's co-ordinators said: "it is now vital that we can continue our work to help ensure that still more children stay on in school".