Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, it is a €5 million scheme on a pilot basis. A considerable body of work is being done within the Department and with experts on the model that will be used for it and which will best meet the needs of schools and be most appropriate to the student body with which we are dealing, especially the younger cohort of students. It is our expectation that work will be completed in the next few weeks. The fuller detail will then be made available with regard to the schools that might choose to be part of the pilot. I referenced earlier to Deputy Ó Ríordáin that it is my absolute determination and expectation that we will have the widest sample of schools with regard to types and sizes of schools to get a very broad cross-section of the types of schools. It is also my hope and expectation there will be even greater learning from this pilot. I look forward to a full roll-out going forward. This is a landmark move. We have not had opportunities like this at primary level to date. It will be a benchmark for us going forward. The Deputy has raised this issue in particular with me. He was very keen we would find the resources and funding for it. He has a particular interest in the area. We will promote this within our schools and the final information will be available in the coming weeks.