Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
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Question 621: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her proposals to achieve gender equity in education and universal primary education as undertaken in the millennium development goals for ending world poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32860/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The first millennium development goal to which the Deputy refers concerns the elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education. I am committed to promoting and sustaining full compliance with gender equality legislation throughout the education system. A gender equality unit was established in the Department in 2000, and became fully operational in 2001. One of the main functions of the gender equality unit is to co-ordinate and monitor the process of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all areas of the education system. Gender mainstreaming involves actively and openly taking into account, at the planning stage, possible effects of policies or measures on the respective situation of men and women. The unit has also commissioned research into a range of areas related to gender and education. This research will add to our understanding of gender issues in the education sector, thus enabling the development of more informed and effective policy.

In addition to this, the gender equality unit has funded a wide range of resource materials for students and teachers at primary and post-primary levels. Most recently it has produced a CD ROM and textbook on "Discovering Women in Irish History" and a resource pack for civic, social and political education called "VOTE: Exploring Democracy, Equality, Participation and Elections". The unit is currently finalising "Equal Measures", a resource developed for primary schools to help teachers, parents, pupils, the school community and boards of management in formulating a gender equality policy and in promoting gender equality in primary schools.

The second millennium development goal to which the Deputy refers is that of ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling. The current system provides for free and compulsory primary education for all children. Within the context of this provision, a range of supports is provided to ensure that children complete their primary education. Since 1997, the Government has dramatically increased the number of teachers in our primary schools. More than 4,500 additional teachers, including nearly 2,500 resource teachers, have been employed. These additional teaching posts have been used to reduce class sizes, to tackle educational disadvantage and to provide additional resources for children with special needs.

We are currently providing increased resources for schools in disadvantaged areas to improve their school completion rates by offering extra supports for their students. These include extra educational supports and services in-school, after school and during holiday times. Working with parents to promote school attendance is also an important part of the work of the home school community liaison co-ordinators appointed to our disadvantaged schools.

Other measures designed to improve school completion include the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board in 2002. The priority the Government attaches to tackling early school leaving is evident from the fact that the budget for the welfare board has been increased by 20% in 2005. In addition, €24 million is being provided this year for the school completion programme.

The new action plan for educational inclusion, DEIS or delivering equality of opportunity in schools, which will be introduced on a phased basis starting during the current school year, aims to ensure that the educational needs of children and young people, from pre-school to completion of upper second level education, that is from three to 18 years, from disadvantaged communities are prioritised and effectively addressed. The new plan will involve an additional annual investment of some €40m on full implementation. It will also involve the creation of about 300 additional posts across the education system generally.

A key element of this new action plan is the putting in place of a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage in our primary and second-level schools, which will result in improved targeting of resources at those most in need. As a result of the identification process, approximately 600 primary schools, comprising 300 urban and 300 rural, and 150 second-level schools will be included in a new school support programme, SSP. The SSP will bring together, and build upon, a number of existing interventions for schools and school clusters and communities with a concentrated level of educational disadvantage. Under DEIS, additional clusters will be created under the school completion programme which provides a wide range of targeted supports on an individual and group basis to children and young people who may be at risk of early school leaving. We anticipate being in a position to notify participating schools in relation to the outcome of the ongoing identification process by the end of the year.