asked the Minister for Education when she proposes to spend the £500,000 budgeted for depressed areas of Dublin and Cork; if she has identified the areas in Cork needing allocations; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Educationally Disadvantaged Areas.
1.
The £500,000 at my disposal in 1984 for the provision of additional aid in educationally disadvantaged areas is being applied.
(1) to bring the grants payable in respect of pupils in special classes in national schools up to the level of those payable in respect of pupils in special schools;
(2) to provide ex gratia payments to certain schools in disadvantaged areas for the relief of debt;
(3) to initiate a programme for selected schools in the greater Dublin area, Cork and Limerick which will include the provision of books and materials for the children, in-service training for the teachers and, in co-operation with the boards of management, the sponsorship of initiatives in home-school-community liaison. Schools in the Dublin, Cork and Limerick areas which fulfil the necessary conditions may apply for selection for participation in the programme;
(4) to fund a pre-school project in respect of children of the travelling people.
While the Minister's answer is a lengthy one I asked specifically if the areas in Cork that are to benefit have been identified but, consciously, or otherwise, that question has not been answered. Presumably, the Minister will furnish me with these details.
The areas in Cork that are to benefit are identified. A total of 33 schools will benefit from the provision of the additional aid. Of these, 19 are in Dublin, eight are in Cork and six are in Limerick.
Now that the need for this fund has been established I should like to hear whether the money will be made available in 1984 and, if so, when in 1984. I look forward to the Minister letting me have a list of those schools which have been identified as such information is of interest from my point of view.
It is not my intention to read out the list of schools that will benefit from this provision but if the Deputy wishes he may discuss any particular area with me when I shall be prepared to let him have any information that it is possible to give. Regarding the other point raised by the Deputy, half of the £100,000 for special classes has been paid already while the remaining half will be paid in June. The £200,000ex gratia sum for the relief of debt will be paid to the diocesan authorities before Easter. The £25,000 for pre-schooling for travellers' children will be expended from September onwards and into 1985. The £50,000 for home-school-community liaison will be spent from September onwards and into 1985 while the £100,000 for books and materials will be spent in September 1984.
What criteria is being used in deciding which schools should qualify for a disadvantaged areas grant? I ask the question because Scoil Aiséirí Críost An Rí, which is in my own area, has not qualified for the grant although this is a disadvantaged area and despite the fact that all the other schools in the locality have qualified for this grant. There is an unemployment rate of 37 per cent of the fathers of the children in this school and in addition there are many other statistics to justify the application of the grant to this area.
The Deputy is asking a question about a specific school. That is a separate question to which I cannot reply at this stage. However, if he wishes to have any specific school examined for the purposes of the grant, I shall accommodate him. The position is that the £500,000 available this year will not be sufficient to meet all the demands that have been made. The criteria used in determining which schools should benefit were the pupil-teacher ratio in the context of its hampering effective schooling, poor environment, a factor that would relate to buildings, place space and so on, unemployment, vandalism, poor attendance of children, difficulty in controlling them and lack of community support. In addition it was recognised that there should be a realistic representation of boys and girls in mixed schools, that there should be a fair geographic spread, that there should be a fair representation of various sizes of schools and that there should be included a number of schools where staff efforts have been relatively successful and others where morale is at a low ebb. In the case of a boys' school and a girls' school that are connected physically or otherwise, both are to be selected and where a junior school and a senior school exist together, the particular circumstances of the area are to dictate which school should be selected.
Deputy Lyons asked that the areas in Cork be identified.
Is the Deputy repeating the question put by Deputy Lyons?
My question was not answered.
The Chair has no control as to how questions are answered.
Despite the local inspectorate having recommended that Scoil Aiséirí Críost An Rí be included, it has been omitted.
The Deputy is making a speech.
But the Minister has not answered the question.
I have explained to the Deputy that the Chair has no control in the matter of how questions are answered.
If the Deputy is anxious to have information in respect of any specific school, I shall supply him with such information, but the question did not relate to specific schools. I have informed the Deputy that eight schools have been selected in the Cork area and for obvious reasons I shall not name those publicly. If we had a situation in which anyone here could ask at any time about individual schools, I could not be expected to have at my disposal all the information required. One would need prior notice of such questions. If the Farranree problem is as serious as the Deputy indicates, I shall give it consideration.