Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of schools to receive funding under the DEIS scheme; when such funding will come on stream; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10762/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the new action plan for educational inclusion provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The DEIS plan states that as well as provision being made for schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage, financial support will also continue to be provided for other primary schools where the level of disadvantage is more dispersed.

DEIS is designed to ensure that the schools serving the most disadvantaged communities benefit from the maximum level of support available. Schools which have not qualified for inclusion in DEIS, and which are receiving additional resources under pre-existing schemes for addressing disadvantage, can be assured that they will continue to get support to enable them to maintain services for their disadvantaged pupils.

As a result of the identification and review processes, 873 schools have been invited to participate in the new Programme. These comprise 670 primary schools (338 urban/town schools and 332 rural schools) and 203 second-level schools. In respect of the 2006/07 school year, grants amounting to approximately €7.7 million due to the 670 Primary schools which are participating in the DEIS Initiative were lodged to their schools' bank accounts on 17 November 2006. This is in addition to payments totalling €1 million which issued to those schools in June 2006. In the order of €4.7 million was paid in the course of the 2006/2007 school year in respect of the 203 Post Primary schools participating in the initiative and 80 Post Primary Schools receiving grants under pre-existing schemes.

Also on 17 November 2006, approximately another 1,900 primary schools received some €4.1 million of grant assistance to assist them with their respective levels of dispersed disadvantage. In addition to supplementary financial assistance which is provided to schools in DEIS, schools will benefit from additional measures which range from pre-school interventions, supports for tackling children's literacy problems, reduced pupil teacher ratios, allocation of administrative principals on lower enrolment, measures to tackle early school leaving, measures to strengthen ties between the school, the family and the community and provision of continuing professional development for teachers.