Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The truth is that I was able to allow 30 schools move from urban band two to urban band one and to provide for 15 new urban band one schools. We identified 45 of the most deprived schools in the country to get the support of not only additional pupil-teacher ratios, access to the free meals scheme and access to the DEIS grant, but also access to a smaller class size. We used objective national criteria to pick the schools. Schools can seek a revision if they believe their pupils have not been properly judged under the system. They can indicate those children and that position will be reviewed in respect of each school but I hope the Deputy would agree that rather than have political criteria, we should use objective criteria generated by the CSO statisticians who can be relied on for their objectivity to make such choices. We then invest that resource in the areas where the greatest need is identified, and that is what I have done. On average, about two schools per constituency have been brought in. In every constituency I could name another school, as I am sure could the Deputy, that has not got in on this occasion but it is a first step. We will refine this process not only in terms of the choice of schools, but also what happens to support children within those schools.

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