Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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245. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reconsider the decision to omit Cork south-west from the list of new schools appointed to the DEIS scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12166/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The key data sources used under the new DEIS identification process are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases, and CSO data from the National Census of Population as represented in the Pobal HP Index for Small Areas. Variables used in the compilation of the HP Index include those related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates. This data is combined with pupil data, anonymised and aggregated to small area, to provide information on the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in the pupil cohort of individual schools. This data is applied uniformly across all the schools in the country and are not affected by electoral boundaries.

In its initial application, the new identification model, applied across all schools, identified schools in disadvantaged areas, not previously included in DEIS, whose level of disadvantage is significantly higher than many schools already in the programme. Accordingly, we are moving as a first step to include these schools within the DEIS School Support Programme. 

This has resulted in the addition of 15 new Urban Band 1 schools, 30 Urban Band 2 raised to Band 1, 51 new rural DEIS schools and 13 new Post-Primary schools. Schools entering DEIS for the first time represent no more than 2% of all schools.

The implementation of a new objective, central data-based model of identifying levels of disadvantage within school populations will be followed by a further programme of work to ensure that levels of resource more accurately follow the levels of need identified by the model.

Once this work has been completed, consideration will be given to extending DEIS supports to a further group of schools as resources permit.

It is important to note that the fact that a school in any area has not been included in the programme on this occasion does not preclude its inclusion at a later date, should its level of disadvantage warrant the allocation of additional resources.

In the 2016/17 School Year there are 825 schools participating in the DEIS Programme. The list of schools, which includes DEIS Schools in Co Cork, is available on my Department's website at the following link: