Vol. 474 No. 3
167 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Education whether a school (details supplied) in County Donegal was considered for inclusion in the Breaking the Cycle scheme in view of the fact that 90 per cent of families attending this school are on social welfare benefit; if so, the grounds on which it failed to meet the criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2864/97]
The school in question was one of 691 primary schools which applied to the Education Research Centre for inclusion in the rural phase of the Breaking the Cycle initiative. All applicant schools were invited to submit data in relation to the educational disadvantage of their pupils under a range of specific criteria devised by the Education Research Centre. The centre selected schools for inclusion in the initiative on the basis of priority of need as reflected in the date submitted by the schools. Unfortunately, the school in question did not rank high enough in terms of priority of need to warrant its inclusion on this occasion.
