The Minister for Education has expressed his "grave concern" with figures reported today that show up to 60 Irish schools have dropout rates of 50 per cent or above among Leaving Cert students.
Mr Dempsey reiterated his commitment to schooling in disadvantaged areas in light of the reports, which revealed that a further 63 have dropout rates of between 40 and 49 per cent in the same age bracket.
The worst rates are concentrated in the Dublin 17 area, which includes areas such as Coolock, Darndale and Priorswood. A quarter of students in this area do not complete their Junior Cert and just 20 per cent complete their Leaving Cert, it has been revealed.
In six schools nationwide - including three in Dublin, two in Dun Laoghaire and one in Limerick - less than 60 per cent of students sit the Junior Cert.
Dublin has the worst dropout rate in the country, with 73 per cent of students quitting the education system before they sit their Leaving Cert.
The dropout rate is most acute in vocational schools, according to the reports. One in three students in such schools quit before sitting their Leaving Cert examination. The dropout trend is more marked among male students.
The reports are based on an analysis of pupil records in the Department of Education's Post-Primary Pupils Database, which was introduced in 1991, and represents the first published analysis of school retention in Ireland.
It charts the attendance of almost the 69,000 pupils who enrolled in second level schools in September 1994.