2026-02-10

I thank the Minister of State for taking this question. As a Sinn Féin TD representing Cork East, and in line with my party's strong focus on tackling inequality and investing in disadvantaged communities, I ask for his active support in progressing fair DEIS provisions for students in Youghal who are experiencing persistent socioeconomic disadvantage. The Youghal urban area is home to 7,075 people: 5,276 adults and 1,799 children. The sociodemographic profile of the town shows that significant populations within the town experience varying degrees of disadvantage. In January 2023, the board of management of Gaelscoil Choráin submitted a comprehensive, evidence-based submission to the Department of education seeking consideration under DEIS urban band 1. The submission was grounded in objective data, including the Pobal HP Deprivation Index, the Youghal community profile and Barnardos documentation, all of which demonstrated entrenched and persistent disadvantage in the school community. That same month, An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, visited Gaelscoil Choráin and other schools in Youghal and witnessed at first hand the scale of complexity of disadvantage affecting students and families and acknowledged the significant challenges facing schools across the town. In June 2023, the Department of education refused DEIS urban band 1 status to the school. However, critically, the correspondence acknowledged the challenges faced by Gaelscoil Choráin and stated the submission would contribute to future work examining the allocation of resources to tackle educational disadvantage, including through a review process informed by updated deprivation data and the OECD analysis. Since 2023, the socio-economic circumstances affecting this community have not improved. On the contrary, the concentration of need in the school has intensified. Gaelscoil Choráin serves a school community located in a designated revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, RAPID, town where disadvantage is persistent, cumulative and well documented. Independent and objective data sources, including the Pobal HP deprivation index, the Youghal community profile and the Barnardos document, clearly demonstrate a concentration of socio-economic disadvantage that significantly impacts students' educational, social and emotional well-being. Without the DEIS urban band 1 supports, this school is structurally constrained in its ability to deliver equitable educational outcomes for students experiencing sustained socio-economic disadvantage. Schools serving communities with comparable profiles benefit from reduced class sizes, targeted staffing supports and integrated DEIS interventions. These students do not, despite the clear evidence of need. I am speaking on behalf of the principal of the school. The Minister of State heard about these situations from the previous speaker and other TDs as well. There is more than one school in my area of east Cork that is struggling without assistance. Principals in many schools in my area are reaching out. I met the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy McEntee, and we were promised at private meetings additional classes for people with autism and special needs and additional SNAs, and told that if the school principals asked for them, they got them. At the time, I told the Minister I knew of six principals where those supports were not forthcoming. I will stick to this school under Topical Issue Matters. I appeal to the Minister of State in his position - I again thank him for his presence tonight - to try to push for this, take it on board and progress it because we are all here to help people.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the Gaelscoil in Youghal. This falls under the remit of my senior Minister, Deputy Naughton, so I am taking it on her behalf. Educational disadvantage is a key priority for the Minister, the rest of the Government and me. The DEIS programme is a key policy initiative for addressing concentrated disadvantage at school level. Supplementing universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a fair and targeted way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity and meets the needs of children and young people. Currently, the DEIS programme supports almost 1,200 primary and post-primary schools, reaching almost 260,000 students, with an annual investment of over €180 million. Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16.5 million, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of a new DEIS strategy and to introduce the DEIS plus scheme, which will commence this year. Schools that were included in the expansion of the programme in 2022 were those with the highest concentration of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage, as identified through the refined DEIS identification model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme. The model was applied equitably to all schools - I will come back to that in a few moments - including those already in the DEIS programme to ensure that they were in the band that best addressed their level of disadvantage. Urban primary schools with the highest levels of disadvantage were assigned to urban band 1. DEIS urban band 2 schools also face significant need and receive a broad range of supports, including reduced pupil-teacher ratios, additional school grants, access to the home school community liaison scheme, the school completion programme, literacy and numeracy initiatives and targeted attendance and retention measures. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, is committed to tackling educational disadvantage in all schools to ensure all children can reach their full potential. To this end, a new ten-year DEIS strategy to 2035 will be published in the coming weeks. The new strategy will introduce innovative solutions to address educational disadvantage and to continue to address the gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Any future changes to the identification model and overall allocation of resources will be considered within the context of the new DEIS strategy. The new strategy will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage, developing more innovative approaches to tackling educational disadvantage, and working towards a more flexible system of supports to ensure that schools receive the right level of support at the right time. The Deputy mentioned Youghal. There were strict criteria for getting DEIS status. We understand the importance of DEIS status. The Deputy made the case for the Gaelscoil in Youghal. I will take it on board and take it back. A huge amount of work by the Minister and the Department has gone into the new strategy to make sure it comes forward and I welcome it. It will be announced in the coming weeks. The Deputy can rest assured that I will take on board the points he made about the Gaelscoil and feed them back to the Department.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. Sometimes, it is hard to comment on individual cases. Going back to this school, it is three years on. The Minister of State spoke about the urban bands 1 and 2. I understand that the Department has to be fair and tick all the boxes. It is similar to what we have been dealing with in terms flooding with tranches 1 and 2. The Minister of State mentioned the right level of support and, in fairness to this school in Youghal, it has made a strong case. It has been three years and nothing has changed. Thankfully, the population is growing despite being in a rural area, the lack of public transport and so on, which is a different issue. From dealing with the individual representing the school, I know these people are passionate. It is not about them getting a pat on the back; it is about doing the right things for those who need it. As the Minister of State said, the right level of support is needed. I thank him for the response. It would be remiss of me if I did not say I will probably follow this up with a formal letter to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, because I know she is passionate about it and when people are new to their roles, it can be difficult at times. We have all often said that we do not come here to get a pat on the back. We come to do the right thing. That is what it is all about. I understand there is the ten-year strategy, but everyone has an emergency. It is urgent, and after three years of full engagement and the Taoiseach coming to see it first hand, surely that first-hand experience would give it a better advantage.

I will certainly pass on the comments to the Minister. She brings a wealth of experience because she served in the role I am in now quite recently so has a good understanding and has hit the ground running on these issues. It is not right. We are putting forward a programme and there is huge commitment by the Government. A total of €180 million is being put into this matter currently and more money will be pumped into it again this year and again in 2027. That shows that the Government, including the Minister, and the Department of education understand the positive benefits of DEIS for school communities and, more importantly, how it has helped students and given them the best possible chance in life. I constantly say it. We have done this continuously in Ireland. One thing we can be exceptionally proud of is the education system we have developed over 100 years. It has served us extremely well. The more investment we can put into education - the Deputy mentioned this in relation to special classes, but into all education, whether it is in disadvantaged areas or whatever - the better. It is a great leveller in terms of giving people the best possible chance. The DEIS programme looks at making sure pupils stay in school and get the best possible outcomes from school. That may be difficult in some circumstances but we will work with the Deputy. If the Deputy puts in the full details, we will respond accordingly. There is just one thing. The Deputy mentioned Youghal being rural. Where I come from at the other side of the county, in a particularly rural part of the world, I would nearly call Youghal a city. That being said, I will continue to work with the Deputy.

They would be very glad to hear that. I thank the Minister of State.