Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 1331: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the schools, itemised on a county basis, that received funding under the DEIS programme for the academic year 2005 to 2006; the schools, itemised on a county basis, which will receive funding under the DEIS programme for the academic year 2006 to 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29266/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the new action plan for educational inclusion will focus on addressing the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities, from pre-school through second-level education (3 to 18 years). The action plan provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP).

The aim of DEIS is not simply to give additional supports to schools serving the most disadvantaged communities, but rather to help support schools and their communities to achieve equality in terms of educational participation and outcomes in line with national norms. DEIS is designed to ensure that schools serving the most disadvantaged communities benefit from the maximum level of support available. Over the years, no less than 8 separate schemes for disadvantaged primary schools have been put in place. Some schools were benefiting from just one or two of these and others were benefiting from more.

The DEIS initiative is designed to ensure that the most disadvantaged schools benefit from a comprehensive package of supports, while ensuring that others continue to get support in line with the level of disadvantage among their pupils. As a result of the identification process, 840 schools were invited to participate in the new School Support Programme. These comprised 640 primary schools (320 urban/town schools and 320 rural schools) and 200 second-level schools.

The tables list all 833 schools who accepted the invitation to participate in the new Programme. The schools are listed on a county basis as requested by the Deputy. These documents are also published on my Department's website. An additional 40 schools are currently being added to the overall number arising from the recent appeals process and the complete listing will be available on my Department's website shortly.