Plan to tackle disadvantage in schools described as short on resources

Education Minister Richard Bruton’s planned expansion of a scheme to tackle disadvantage in schools has been described as short on the resources needed to address the issues.

Mr Bruton has secured an extra €15m a year to widen supports to 79 more schools from next September.

However, some schools might lose the extra resources they have had under his department’s Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (Deis) for the past decade, after a new system is finalised next year to identify which ones cater for the highest numbers of disadvantaged pupils.