Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 476: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when her Department will publish the review of disadvantaged status for schools as promised in 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3843/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A key element of delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS, the new action plan for educational inclusion, is the putting in place of a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage in our primary and second-level schools for the purposes of qualifying for resources, both human and financial, according to the degree of disadvantaged experienced. This standardised system will replace all of the existing arrangements for targeting schools for participation in initiatives to address disadvantage. The new action plan aims to ensure that the educational needs of children and young people, from pre-school to completion of upper second level education, three to 18 years, from disadvantaged communities are prioritised and effectively addressed. It will involve an additional annual investment of some €40 million on full implementation and the creation of about 300 additional posts across the education system generally.

The identification process involved a new survey by the Educational Research Centre of all mainstream primary schools and the updating of existing data sources on the levels of disadvantage in second-level schools. As a result of the identification process, approximately 600 primary schools, comprising 300 urban and town, 300 rural, and 150 second level schools will be included in a new school support programme, SSP. The identification process is nearing completion and we anticipate being in a position to issue an invitation to selected schools to participate in the new integrated school support programme shortly.