Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 October 2014
17. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills the requirements needed for primary schools currently holding a DEIS 2 status, to be upgraded to a DEIS 1 status; when the last review of the overall DEIS system took place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37946/14]
View answerThe DEIS programme is the subject of ongoing evaluation by both the Educational Research Centre and my Department's Inspectorate who have produced a series of evaluation reports to date, copies of which are available on my Department's website.
This research was also the subject of a recent research seminar entitled "Learning from DEIS" at which my predecessor Minister Ruairí Quinn announced plans to commission a further overall report in relation to DEIS to provide recommendations for a renewal of the Government's policy in relation to educational disadvantage, including DEIS. Commissioning of this report is currently underway.
A key priority in the current economic climate is to prioritise and target resources at schools with the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage. In these circumstances the opportunities for increasing expenditure on current programmes are limited and exclude the capacity for a reclassification of schools within the DEIS programme.
