Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)

However, I am concerned that the schools which did not attain DEIS status in 2005, despite meeting all of the criteria, are now being subjected to the same cutbacks as schools which are much less disadvantaged. The consequence of this is that students who need more support will receive much less. The Minister must come to the House to discuss what might be done for this cohort of students. If the matter is simply brushed under the carpet, these areas of deprivation will end up requiring hundreds of millions of euro in support by way of Limerick-style regeneration. I hope I have the support of the entire House in this regard. An error was made in 2005 and the schools thereby denied DEIS status have experienced further hardship in the interim. It would be an absolute shame if the Department imposed additional cuts on these schools.