We must address those areas of community building and education with whatever it takes. It will take a great deal to achieve it but if we write off whole communities we do so at our peril. We must find a solution which involves self-help rather than just giving the money to get people out of this week's challenge. In the area of education, I was fortunate to work for five years chairing the NCCA with the Department of Education on the applied leaving certificate. Those five years were very useful because they taught me a great deal.
Education is the one way to escape disadvantage.
Many years ago Donogh O'Malley set up the free education system to ensure equality of opportunity, but that will not achieve everything. That will not include these people who are being left out. I was always unhappy that it left out one person in ten who was not going to receive second level education. The figure being achieved is much less than that - one person in five is not getting second level education. We must work not just on equality of education but on equality of outcome.