Vol. 529 No. 1
1147 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will give a progress report on the implementation of the new deal on educational disadvantage, as announced in December 1999; the amount of money spent at each level in education; the number of new teaching and other posts allocated at each level since the launch of this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1089/01]
The detailed information sought by the Deputy in relation to resource allocation and expenditure across the education levels since the December 1999 announcement is currently being compiled in my Department. This information will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it has been compiled.
1148 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Science the date on which 200 additional teaching posts to counter disadvantage in primary schools were first announced by his predecessor; the dates on which he allocated and sanctioned the filling of these posts; the date by which these posts were or are to be filled; the reasons for the lengthy delay in filling these posts; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that schools will have great difficulty in finding qualified teachers for the posts due to the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1090/01]
The Deputy is referring to an announcement by the Taoiseach on 15 December 1999 concerning a Government three year plan to address educational disadvantage at all levels. One of the measures proposed was the allocation of 204 teaching posts for allocation to primary schools with the most significant concentrations of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The initial step in delivering this programme for primary schools entailed the identification of the number of "at risk" pupils in each primary school. All primary schools were requested to participate in a comprehensive and objective survey that was designed to identify the level of concentration in each school of pupils with characteristics that are associated with education disadvantage and early school leaving. The survey, which began in April 2000, was carried out by the Educational Research Centre – ERC – in Drumcondra for my Department. More than 75% of schools participated in the survey and the final results only became available to my Department late last year.
