Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 603: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will support proposals (details supplied) to tackle educational disadvantage. [6845/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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With the launch of DEIS (the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion) in 2005, my Department has redoubled its efforts in addressing the challenging issues of social exclusion and educational disadvantage. The social partnership agreement Towards 2016, the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-16 and the social inclusion chapter of the National Development Plan provide an integrated and cohesive strategic focus for developing and implementing policies to tackle such issues and aim to ensure effective and joined-up delivery of social inclusion programmes and services. They also adopt a lifecycle approach in addressing issues of social exclusion, including educational disadvantage, in the context of a ten year framework.

The long term perspective of these developments includes the setting of realistic high-level goals, their focus on the lifecycle and on coherent and integrated responses that can be effectively monitored. They effectively provide the framework for addressing the key educational and social challenges that individuals face and the supports available to them at each stage in the lifecycle.

The various intervention measures of the past 15 years have focused in particular on providing additional human and financial resources to address such issues as early education, literacy, the role of the family and the community in education and the problems associated with early school leaving. In addition there have been significant supports put in place for back to education initiatives, adult literacy, youth and greater access to further and higher education.

The DEIS action plan for educational inclusion both prefigured and is an integral part of the new integrated approach being adopted at national level to address problems of social exclusion and disadvantage.

The action plan provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme. DEIS brings together, and builds upon, a number of existing supports in schools where there is a concentrated level of disadvantage. DEIS represents a shift in emphasis away from individual initiatives, each addressing a particular aspect of the problem and adopts a multi-faceted and more integrated approach.

Also central to the success of the action plan will be an increased emphasis on planning at school and school cluster level, target-setting and measurement of progress and outcomes to ensure that the increased investment is matched by an improvement in educational outcomes for the children and young people concerned.

The DEIS action plan, which is being implemented over a five year period to 2010, addresses many of the issues raised by the correspondent. The plan is comprehensive in its approach to early education, transition from primary to second-level, the role of the family and community, literacy and numeracy, attendance and early school leaving, teacher retention and development and the active participation of children in their own development.