Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support what Deputy Gannon is saying. I, too, have been contacted by a number of schools in respect of this issue. The reality is that the old system was based on school data and included enrolment, gender, which the Minister of State has indicated is no longer a criterion, the profile of the school, complex needs and the level of deprivation. Under the new system, which is again based on school data, the criteria will be enrolment, the profile of the school and the level of deprivation in the area. The gender and complex needs criteria are gone. On the basis of the Minister of State's statistics, 33% of schools will have a lesser allocation. She has outlined that. How is the new system better? Why, as Deputy Gannon rightly asked, is the INTO criticising the new system, which the Minister of State says has been formulated following a significant level of consultation? Was INTO involved in the consultation and did it sign off on it? I do not think any teacher union would sign off on a system under which 33% of schools will have less of an allocation.

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