Teenage mothers in Galway are being encouraged not to drop out of school after having their babies, but to stay in second-level education and continue on to third-level education or training. The Young Mothers in Education Project run by Galway Youth Federation and funded by Galway City Partnership provides individual support and information to young women who are pregnant, or have babies, and provides grinds where necessary. Six girls attend the group every week at the moment. Five are sitting the Leaving Cert in June.

These girls will be supported to go on to a PLC course or to college. Project worker Eleanor Clancy points out that girls have to be over the age of 21 to qualify for the VTOS scheme, which provides £50 a week towards childcare, in addition to a training allowance, so the mainstream education system actually mitigates against teenage mums. The Teen Parents Project is a pilot project set up by the Department of Health and Children at University College Hospital, to support young parents and their children during pregnancy and for the following two years.

Project co-ordinator Mary O'Neill explains that the project was set up in response to the lack of support facilities for young mothers once they left hospital after having their babies. Since the project started taking referrals last July, they have helped 63 teenagers. Contrary to popular perceptions, O'Neill says the number of young single mothers is not huge and is not on the increase. Irish teenagers are haphazard in their use of contraception, according to O'Neill, and the project aims to tackle this. For further information on the Young Mothers in Education Project, contact Eleanor Clancy at (091) 528553. For information on the Teen Parents Project, contact Mary O'Neill at (091) 524222, ext 4614/4229/4567.