Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 252: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if an application for DEIS status was made by a school (details supplied) in County Laois; the outcome of such application; if not made, if the school can still apply for inclusion in DEIS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37669/08]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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DEIS, (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). 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.

A review mechanism was put in place to address the concerns of schools that did not qualify for inclusion in DEIS but regarded themselves as having a level of disadvantage which was of a scale sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the programme. The review process operated under the direction of an independent person, charged with ensuring that all relevant identification processes and procedures were properly followed in the case of schools applying for a review. As a result of the identification and review processes, 673 primary and 203 second-level schools were invited to participate in the programme. The school referred to by the Deputy was not identified for inclusion in the programme nor did it make an application for a review.