Vol. 513 No. 6
434 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will give details of the published objective criteria to determine pupils deemed disadvantaged at primary level and the thresholds to distinguish for distinct levels of disadvantage and related support under his plan for educational opportunities. [3244/00]
"The New Deal – A Plan for Educational Opportunity", which was launched by the Taoiseach on 15 December 1999 provides for the expenditure of £194 million over the next three years on the main areas of education. The funding will be provided on a multi-annual basis and appropriate provision will be targeted at the educationally disadvantaged in each of the major areas of education from early childhood education through the aspects of the formal system to life-long and continuing education.
Plans are already under way to implement a comprehensive survey of all primary schools to identify the levels of concentration of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in each school. While it is intended that the criteria that will be used in this survey will be based on those used in setting up the "Breaking the cycle" project in 1996, the reliability of the criteria as predictors of educational disadvantage is under review and the precise criteria that will be used in this new survey have not yet been finalised.
The criteria used for "Breaking the Cycle" referred to background characteristics and dealt with: long-term unemployment of the main bread-winner in the home; receipt of financial assistance due to low farm income; medical card holding; residence in rented local-authority accommodation; lone-parent families; whether the mother had sat the group of intermediate certificates and whether the father had sat the group of intermediate certificates.
The tiers of supports that will be made available to meet the differing levels of need of the schools and of the pupils that will be identified in the survey are under consideration in my Department at present.
