302. Deputy Catherine Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Science if and when the University of Limerick carried out and published the survey of the SPHE programme in post primary schools, as it was assigned to do under the national drugs strategy 2001 to 2008. [7626/08]

Minister for Education and Science (Deputy Mary Hanafin): The University of Limerick was requested by the SPHE Management Committee to carry out an evaluation of Implementation of SPHE at Junior Cycle in 2002. Two other evaluation reports were completed in 2003 - Review of SPHE at Junior Cycle by the SPHE Support Service (Rita Burtenshaw) Review of Records of In-Sevice Training for Teachers of SPHE (David Millar). The findings from these three Evaluation Reports were published in a document entitled The SPHE Story - an example of incremental change in the school setting. This document is available in hard copy as well as on the SPHE website at http://www.sphe.ie/. Substance Use is one of ten modules addressed in the SPHE curriculum and as such was included in the evaluating process.

The National Drugs Strategy did not provide the impetus for the commissioning of the report carried out by the University of Limerick, nor indeed for either of the other reports mentioned above. The Departments commitments under the Strategy did include the delivery of the SPHE programme in all Second level schools. (Action 33 refers) This has been mandatory for all Junior Cycle pupils since September 2003.

Vol. 648 No. 2, Written Answers, Tuesday, 26 February 2008