Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)
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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.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge Senator Browne's concerns on this issue. Like him, I am occasionally mystified as to how the status of adjacent schools which are attended by the same families may be determined in slightly different fashions. I thank the Senator for affording me this opportunity to outline to the House the position of the Department of Education and Science concerning the allocation of disadvantaged status and, in particular, Scoil Phádraig Naofa, Tullow, County Carlow.

The new action plan for educational inclusion launched by the Department earlier this week provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated school support programme which will bring together and build upon a number of existing interventions for schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage. The new action plan will be introduced on a phased basis starting in the next school year and will involve an additional annual investment of €40 million upon full implementation. It will also involve the provision of some 300 additional posts across the education system.

A key element of this new action plan is the better identification of levels of disadvantage in our schools, which will result in improved targeting of resources at those most in need. The first stage of the identification process, which is being conducted on behalf of the Department of Education and Science by the Educational Research Centre in Drumcondra, is already under way. Questionnaires have been issued to all mainstream primary schools under this process and these were due for return at close of business yesterday. Analysis by the centre of the responses will commence presently. The identification process is being supported by an advisory group which includes representatives from the INTO and the Irish Primary Principals Network.

Participation by schools in the new school support programme will be based upon the results of the identification process. The number of primary schools to be involved will be approximately 600, comprising 300 urban or town schools and 300 rural schools. In addition, supports will continue to be provided for primary schools where the level of disadvantage is more dispersed.

The school to which the Senator refers is included in the urban dimension of the Giving Children an Even Break programme which was introduced in 2001 and benefits from supplementary funding to provide additional educational supports for the children concerned. The school was not considered eligible for additional teaching staff based on the levels of concentration of at risk pupils within the school in the year 2000. The position on the school's participation in the new initiative will be determined following completion of the identification process which is now under way. I thank the Senator once again for raising this matter in the House, given that the school in question is almost lucky enough to fall within my constituency.

Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. Perhaps he will share his local knowledge of the area with the Minister for Education and Science. The situation may look reasonable on paper but the reality differs.