Micheál Martin
Ceist:94 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Education the plans, if any, she has to designate a school (details supplied) in County Monaghan as disadvantaged under the disadvantaged areas scheme. [19506/96]
Written Answers. - Disadvantaged Schools.
I have no plans at present to extend disadvantaged area status to additional primary schools. The Deputy may be aware that I recently launched an important new initiative which seeks to break the cycle of educational disadvantage in selected urban and rural areas.
This initiative is based on the outcome of detailed studies of educational disadvantage conducted by the Combat Poverty Agency and the Education Research Centre. Among the findings of these studies was a recommendation that a more targeted approach be adopted, with resources being directed towards the most disadvantaged urban and rural areas. The studies also concluded that disadvantaged area supports should be confined to 16 per cent of the school-going population. In this connection, it was noted that the disadvantaged areas scheme already extends to more than 17 per cent of pupils.
Under the Breaking the Cycle initiative, a targeted programme of special supports is being made available to selected urban and rural schools. In the case of urban schools, the focus was on schools which already had disadvantaged area status and were located in the urban areas of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.
The second element of the initiative focused on schools from all parts of the country with fewer than five teachers and particulary schools in rural areas which serve dispersed populations and which have concentrations of children who are at risk of not reaching their potential in the school system.
Unfortunately, based on staffing and enrolment, the school referred to by the Deputy was not eligible to apply for inclusion under the new initiative.