Vol. 506 No. 2
432 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason two schools (details supplied) in Carrick-on-Suir have disadvantaged status and the three remaining schools which qualify have not; when these schools will be designated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15191/99]
The last general expansion of the disadvantaged areas scheme at both primary and second level took place in 1994.
At that time, schools were assessed as to priority of need by reference to a range of criteria which had been agreed between the Department, schools' management and the teacher unions. At primary level, the criteria in question took account of such factors as the levels of unemployment; local authority housing and rented accommodation occupancy; and medical card holding among the families of the pupils concerned. The total points scored by schools under the above headings were then weighted by a factor which took account of the prevailing pupil teacher ratios among the applicant schools. At second level, account was also taken of rural disadvantage, lone parent households, literacy-numeracy difficulties and lack of formal educational qualifications wrong parent of pupils in applicant schools.
The three schools referred to by the Deputy did not rank sufficiently high in terms of priority of need to secure inclusion in the disadvantaged areas schemes at that time.
A study of educational disadvantage conducted by the Combat Poverty Agency and the Education Research Centre in 1996 concluded that disadvantaged status should be confined to 16 per cent of the school-going population. The study noted that such status had already been granted to 17 per cent of pupils. As an alternative to extending the disadvantaged areas scheme to additional schools, the study recommended that available resources should be targeted on the most disadvantaged schools.
