LABOUR PARTY president Michael D Higgins has criticised the Minister for Education's decision to withdraw funding from an educational initiative for lone parents in Galway.
The Department of Education and Science has confirmed that it is no longer funding the Galway Young Mothers in Education project, which has been in existence since 1999.
Up to 25 young women will have to drop out of courses and a further 60 who are seeking support will have to abandon their plans, the project says. It has a deficit of €50,000 and will have to close at the end of March if State assistance is not retained.
A meeting to highlight the issue was held by the project in Galway at the weekend.
The department says it is already funding a teen parenting initiative through the Health Service Executive (HSE) West in Galway.