Michael Ring
Ceist:74 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education the decision made in respect of an application from a school (details supplied) in County Mayo under the scheme of assistance to schools in designated areas of disadvantage. [10651/96]
Written Answers. - Schools in Disadvantaged Areas.
I am aware that the school in question applied for inclusion in the disadvantaged scheme in 1995. Unfortunately, the scheme has not been extended to additional schools since 1994.
In 1995, I commissioned the Combat Poverty Agency and the Education Research Centre to conduct a detailed study on current approaches to the identification and support of pupils in disadvantaged areas. The criteria used to determine eligibility for inclusion in the disadvantaged areas scheme and how to focus and target new measures to break the cycle of disadvantage were among the issues covered by the study. Following receipt of this study, I recently announced an important new initiative aimed at breaking the cycle of educational disadvantage in targeted areas of particular need.
For urban schools, a targeted programme of supports will be made available to twenty-five selected large schools in designated areas of disadvantage in the Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway urban areas. For rural schools, a special initiative will focus on schools with fewer than five teachers, and particularly on schools in rural areas serving dispersed populations. Supports will be made available to 25 clusters of schools in this category, each cluster having a combined enrolment of some 300 to 350 pupils.
The Education Research Centre has been commissioned to approach schools in the target groups and areas and invite their participation in this new initiative. I would expect that the schools in question will be contacted in the near future.