Vol. 450 No. 2
105 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Education if she will give sanction to a school (details supplied) in County Louth for a pre-school centre; and if her attention has been drawn to the fact that this school is located in an area of high unemployment which was designated as disadvantaged eight years ago. [4912/95]
The school referred to by the Deputy currently has disadvantaged area status and as such has an additional concessionary teaching post. The school also receives a special rate of capitation funding and this is being increased from £55 to £65 per pupil for the coming school year.
I propose to expand the early start pre-school programme through the establishment of a further 25 pre-school projects in the coming school year. This development will significantly expand the pre-school service and the areas targeted will be selected from among those already included in the disadvantaged areas scheme. The process of selecting schools for inclusion in the expanded early start programme is currently underway in my Department and the needs of the area mentioned by the Deputy will be considered in this context.
