Vol. 507 No. 4
224 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Science if the status of St. John's boys' school, Kilkenny, will be examined with a view to granting fully disadvantaged status in view of the fact that the school serves the Lake school, Kilkenny, which is fully disadvantaged; if he will grant funding towards a classroom assistant for information technology for this school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17006/99]
The school referred to by the Deputy is included in the disadvantaged areas scheme for funding purposes only.
I am aware of the case made by the school for the allocation of a concessionary teacher post to address problems of educational disadvantage in the school. I can assure the Deputy that the needs of the school to which he refers will be fully considered in the context of any additional initiatives which may be undertaken to address educational disadvantage in the primary sector.
My Department through the National Centre for Technology in Education provides grant aid for ICT equipment for schools. The NCTE also provides support for teachers in the form of training courses and technical advice. IT advisers have recently been appointed to assist schools.
There is no general scheme for the funding of classroom assistants for information technology in schools.
