Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 April 2017
134. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools with existing DEIS status that were assessed as not meeting the deprivation criteria in the latest DEIS assessment but did not lose their DEIS status. [17270/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe key data sources used in the DEIS Identification process are DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases as populated by schools and the CSO Small Area of Population (SAP) data from the National Census of Population 2011 as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation Index (HP Index). Variables used in the compilation of the HP Index include those related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates. This data is combined with pupil data, anonymised and aggregated to small area, to provide information on the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in the pupil cohort of individual schools.
It is important to note that this initial assessment of all schools has been used to extend DEIS supports to those schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage as detailed in the list of schools published on 13th February. This represents a first step in the application of the new DEIS Identification process and we are moving to support pupils in those schools with effect from September 2017.
We must be conscious that there are ongoing changes in demographics which may be more marked in some areas than others. Populations in some areas have changed considerably since the list of the current schools included within DEIS were evaluated. The new model may reveal that some schools currently included in DEIS have a level of disadvantage within their school population much lower than that in some schools not included within DEIS. If this turns out to be the case, then we must consider whether it is fair that those schools continue receiving these additional resources, using resources that may be more fairly allocated to the schools with greater levels of disadvantage.
