Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 371: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a school (details supplied) in County Laois can make an application for a review under the delivering equality of opportunity in schools having not been previously identified for inclusion in the programme; the way it can undertake the same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10045/08]

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.

The process of identifying schools for participation in DEIS was managed by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of my Department and supported by quality assurance work co-ordinated through the Department's regional offices and the inspectorate. As a result of the identification and review process, 873 schools have been included in the SSP under the DEIS initiative. These comprised 670 primary schools (338 urban schools and 332 rural schools) and 203 second-level schools. The next identification process is scheduled to be held in 2009/2010.

In the interim, the Department has put in place separate arrangements for new schools (including those created through amalgamation), which opened in 2005/2006 or thereafter up to the time of the next identification process in 2009/2010. The Department will also consider, during the course of the current year, the situation of schools located in certain communities that have experienced significant socioeconomic decline since the commencement of DEIS.