The £5.35 billion allocated to education under the terms of the National Development Plan, may sound like a lot of money - but it's not going to mean bonanza time for all schools in the State. Indeed, at his press briefing a fortnight ago, the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, stressed that the funds would be targeted and that spending would be concentrated on promoting social inclusion. Disadvantaged groups and the long-term unemployed are set to be the major beneficiaries.

At school level, targeted initiatives, worth over £250 million, include early childhood education, early literacy, school completion and a third-level access fund. Primary and post-primary schools (along with third level) are also set to benefit from a £1.6 billion infrastructural investment. Meanwhile, £64 million has been set aside for the in-career development of primary and second-level teachers. While the focus on the least well-off in our society is welcome - and not before time - it's worth remembering that there's little that's altruistic about the National Development Plan.

The overall plan, which involves an investment of more than £40 billion "is designed to underpin the development of a dynamic competitive economy over the period 2000-2006". In terms of the disadvantaged, they're largely regarded as one of the last untapped labour pools existing in the State. The brave new world envisaged in the plan owes nothing to the arts, to culture or the development of a civil society. Education is largely a means to an end - jobs.

Some educators fear that, unless great care is taken, the focus on vocational skills could undermine our education system. By failing to foster young people who can think critically, ask questions and be creative, we're in danger of ending up a nation of robots. "It is estimated by the OECD that 50 per cent of the Irish population aged 25 to 64 years have less than upper secondary education, compared to 19 per cent in Germany and 26 percent in Sweden," the plan says. "If these shortages and deficits and their causal factors are not addressed and the pool of skilled labour replenished the convergence performance of the economy will be difficult to sustain."

The plan takes a pragmatic view of the elimination of poverty, taking little account of justice or basic human rights. "Many marginalised areas are also disproportionately affected by crime and drug abuse, while a disproportionately large percentage of the prison population comes from them. As a result society suffers in two ways. Firstly, social exclusion imposes additional costs, direct and indirect, on society and reduces the quality of life generally (e.g. crime). Secondly, society is at the loss of the potential contribution - both economic and otherwise - which people who are affected by social exclusion could make to it."

With some caveats, though, the National Development Plan has been broadly welcomed by the education sector. The Minister's intention to target disadvantaged children throughout the school community, rather than simply targeting schools in disadvantaged areas, has received widespread praise. "There are children with disadvantages and special needs in almost every class in the country," comments Bernadine O'Sullivan, who is president of the ASTI. However, she is concerned that 1980s cutbacks in teacher numbers has yet to be reversed.

"Class sizes in our area have not been reduced," she says. "There are too many students in classes. Students aren't getting their full subject choices and teachers are unable to carry out their new management roles." Sister Teresa McCormack of the Conference of Religious in Ireland also applauds the education provisions in the National Development Plan and the targeting of disadvantage. `Young people from disadvantaged areas are more at risk," she comments. "The dice is loaded against them and they deserve and need additional supports."

There are, however, important issues of delivery and monitoring, she warns. "It's essential that the resources are used to target specific children, rather than benefiting the school as a whole." McCormack is also concerned that labour-market "upskilling" will be evenly shared. "There's going to be a huge tension to maintain competition in the labour market," she says. "If there's a tendency to upskill the already well skilled, the disparities between rich and poor will remain and the less well-qualified will be left even further behind."

Public policy on State investment, CORI argues, should include a specific commitment that a significant proportion of that investment should be directed at the less well-qualified members of the labour force.

Any investment in the area of upskilling, she adds, should try to combine the upgrading of skills relating to personal, political and professional needs. At pre-school level, the Government plans to spend £74 million, over the life of the plan, on an early education programme which will replace Early Start. As yet, no details are available - we have to await publication of the forthcoming White Paper on early education. However, Hilary Kenny director of services at the IPPA, the Early Childhood Organisation, cites a lack of consultation between the pre-school sector and the Department of Education and Science.

"We would have welcomed ongoing consultation with the Department on the nature of the programme to replace Early Start," she says. "We have had no talks with them since the National Forum for Early Childhood Education in March 1998, and a lot has happened since then." Kenny also expresses disappointment at the continued lack of integration of early childcare and education services at departmental level. Departments including Education, Health, Justice and Social, Community and Family Affairs have budgets in this area.

TCD'S PROVOST, Dr Tom Mitchell, meanwhile, welcomes the proposal to spend £95 million on a third-level access programme. This amount equates to £13.57 million per annum over the life of the plan, which is a significant increase on the present spending of £2.4 million per annum.

"If you look at the numbers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds," he says, "relatively little progress has been made in making an impact. But now there is a very high awareness of the gravity of the problem and the need to do something about it." A more co-ordinated approach and a better funding system are vital. "We will never be successful in getting significant numbers to finish their education unless they are given scholarships and supports that are worthwhile. The financial disincentives have to be removed."

Targeting is essential. "It's a key word. We can't dissipate resources. We have to focus on particular groups." A survey to be published shortly by the Union of Students in Ireland shows a drop in the number of students with backgrounds classified as "unskilled manual workers" in recent years. Figures show that this group comprised 1.8 per cent of the university population in 1992 but only 0.7 per cent in 1996. The children of skilled manual workers, meanwhile, who comprised 14.2 per cent of the university population in 1992, are now down to 11.3 per cent.

At his press briefing, the Minister identified up to 10,000 third-level students in the system whose families are social welfare-dependent. "These are the most vulnerable people in college," the Minister said. "More resources should be targeted at these people." The Combat Poverty Agency, while welcoming the education provision of the National Development Plan, has reservations.

"The fact is that a quarter of all Irish children live in poverty," comments Jim Walsh, a policy analyst with Combat Poverty. "You can put as much as you like into education, but children will remain impoverished. All the education in the world won't overcome that. We need redistribution strategies to give more cash to low income families."

The Government's antipoverty strategy highlights the financial barriers to education suffered by the poor, he notes. "But this plan says nothing about that. It's an issue which needs to be addressed."

The plan, Walsh notes, contains "a number of good measures and the resources to back them up, but there is a question about targeting disadvantage. We know it's diffuse - but do we have the capacity to identify disadvantage throughout the system?"