Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the fact that schools (details supplied) in Dublin 10 are in an area of major disadvantage, a drugs task force area, a partnership area and also the area with the lowest educational attainment in the State; and her views on whether, when the environment for pupils to learn is not attractive, is disrupted or is unsafe, it adds to the difficult task faced by the teachers, the parents and the community in general. [11589/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The new policy framework for tackling educational disadvantage that I will be publishing shortly will provide for a new standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and will put in place a new integrated programme of supports that will bring together, and build upon existing policy interventions and initiatives for schools and school communities with a concentrated level of disadvantage.

The new policy framework will be introduced on a phased basis, starting in the next school year, and will involve an additional annual investment of €40 million on full implementation. It will also involve the provision of some 300 additional posts across the education system.

Some of these posts will be used to provide smaller class sizes in targeted disadvantaged primary schools. We will be narrowing the gap between the size of junior and senior classes in the most disadvantaged schools, by providing for classes of 24 at senior level. Ensuring that more children from disadvantaged areas are taught in smaller classes is a priority for me as an important step in delivering on the Government's commitments with regard to class size in the primary school system as a whole.

The schools to which the Deputy refers are currently included in the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS, the home school community liaison, HSCL, scheme, and the Giving Children an Even Break, GCEB, programme. Under these programmes each of the schools referred to by the Deputy have received 2.5 additional teaching posts for the current school year, as well as additional financial support.

These schools are also included in the school completion programme, which is my Department's main programme for tackling early school-leaving. The school completion programme is based on an integrated cross-community approach to tackling educational disadvantage, involving primary and post primary schools, parents, communities and relevant statutory and voluntary agencies. Its objective is to provide a range of interventions in areas of disadvantage that support the retention of young people in education. The three schools referred to by the Deputy are part of a school completion programme "cluster" that received an allocation of €192,000 in the current school year.