Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I wish to make the case that a boys' national school in Tullow, Scoil Phádraig Naofa, should be granted disadvantaged status. When the Minister for Education and Science announced a recent allocation of resource teachers, the boys' national school received half the allocation of the neighbouring school. The Minister is aware of Tullow because he represents the adjoining constituency. This town has two national schools, for boys and girls, respectively, which are located close together and are attended by children of the same families. For some reason, the girls' national school is disadvantaged whereas the boys' school is not. This has a significant effect in that the girls' national school has an extra teacher and twice as many resource teaching hours. I am sure that further anomalies exist to lend the girls' school an advantage.

I ask the Minister to take the sensible step of giving disadvantaged status to the boys' school because the students of both schools come from the same families and face similar social problems. Failing this, I ask him to take the interim measure of doubling the allocation of resource teaching hours for the boys' school. As a review on the disadvantaged status of schools is ongoing, it may be impossible at present to confer disadvantaged status.

Action should be taken because the current unusual situation is to the disadvantage of the boys' school. Many education reports indicate that boys encounter more significant learning difficulties than girls. This highlights the urgent need for the boys' school to receive the resources required to raise it to the same level as the girls' school.