Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will meet with representatives from a school (details supplied) who have been in touch with him regarding urban DEIS status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32286/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, a process to review DEIS which began last year is nearing completion and it is my intention to publish a new Plan for Educational Inclusion before the end of this year.

The review is looking at all aspects of DEIS, including the range and impact of different elements of the School Support Programme, the potential for innovation within and between schools and its scope for increased integration of services provided by other Departments and Agencies, in order to improve effectiveness.

Among the measures to be included in the plan are a series of pilot schemes aimed at introducing measures which have been shown to work well in improving results for disadvantaged children and students. The plan is expected to include targeted measures in the area of:

- School leadership

- School networks and clusters

- Teaching methodologies

- Integration of schools and other State supports within communities

- Greater use of Home School Community Liaison services

As you know no new school has been included in DEIS since 2009, now a new assessment framework is being developed using centrally held CSO and DES data for the identification of new schools for inclusion. The number of schools to be included in the programme will be determined by this proposed new identification process which will assess all schools in the country, including those not currently participating in DEIS. It will not be necessary for schools to make an application.

While we await the outcome of the identification process, it is not my intention to change the DEIS status of any school including Mary Queen of Ireland National School. They will be assessed on the same basis as every other school in the country.

Implementation of actions arising from the Plan for Educational Inclusion will begin in the 2017/18 school year, and will be a continuing theme in our wider Annual Action Plan for Education.