Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

All schools have responded to the survey which is being independently assessed by the Educational Research Centre. That standardised system will then identify the level of disadvantage. It will draw together a new integrated school support programme building on all the existing supports across the sector. As a result of that identification about 600 primary schools — 300 urban and 300 rural — will be included along with 150 second level schools. All those will be in the school support programme that will bring together clusters and groups of disadvantage that we will target. We anticipate the schools involved will know by the end of the school year.

Schools currently receiving funds under different headings and that do not make it into the top group will hold on to the funding they have but any additional funding will be targeted at the schools that most need it.

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