The Labour spokeswoman for education, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said a report on educational disadvantage should be published before the Budget.
Ms O'Sullivan said this would enable the new Minister for Education, Ms Hanafin, to fight for the funds for its implementation.
She added that the chairwoman of the Department's educational disadvantage committee, Prof Aine Hyland, had said that some of the recommendations made last December could have been implemented without costing extra money.
"That happened under the Minister's predecessor, and we were all sick and tired of hearing him talking about educational disadvantage while doing absolutely nothing about it."
Ms Hanafin said it was unfair to say that recommendations were not implemented although they did not cost money.
"When dealing with schemes, money is not the only issue. We must check they are properly targeted, and if there are proper outcomes from them. It is only when we have the overall picture that we can decide which of the schemes we will go forward with, and which will be integrated.
"We must examine if there is an overlap of schemes in some schools while other schools do not get anything, and ensure there is a carry-through from first to second-level...That was the subject of at least one of the schemes that is working successfully."
Ms O'Sullivan said she understood the report was ready, adding that a draft of it had appeared in The Irish Times. "If the leaks are true there are severe criticisms in the report of how the money already allocated is being spent."
Ms Hanafin said she was always amazed at the power of journalists to get full draft reports before even the Minister.
"I have not seen the full draft report so I cannot comment on every aspect of it.
"I know, however, that it deals with the strengths and weaknesses in the schemes that have developed incrementally over the years, looks at how we can identify what works, and contains ideas on an integrated approach to dealing with disadvantage and streamlining the existing systems."
