Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

The report last September of the Comptroller and Auditor General on educational disadvantage shows that from 1998 to 2004 the gap in literacy levels between children in disadvantaged schools and those in ordinary schools widened. Children in disadvantaged schools are, therefore, having greater difficulty with literacy. The Minister has introduced DEIS since then but one of the points made by the Comptroller and Auditor General referred to the need to monitor and measure to ensure the programmes are working. What does the Minister have in place to ensure that what is being put into the system will improve standards?

The weighted model was introduced at the same time as DEIS. The weighted model system is, in effect, removing with one hand what DEIS is providing with the other. Has the Minister evaluated the effect of the weighted model on the most disadvantaged schools and what these schools have lost as a result of providing special needs support on the basis of the number of students in the school rather than the need?

See this speech in context