Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late. I was delayed. I will get the written transcript from the clerk and read it. I have no wish to repeat any of the issues touched on earlier. It is good to see the consensus that there is room for improvement and that it would be much better to have an equitable model that is fair to everyone. The meat will be in the detail and in knowing how it is applied.

I realise the deputation is not in a position to give a commitment on extra resources but the transition from the current model to the new model will be crucial and there will have to be extra resources. It will be impossible to take teachers out of one school overnight and put them somewhere else, in particular if some schools are going to see a significant drop in their allocation. There will have to be some additionality, even if it is only on a short-term basis, to deal with the change and to ensure the system can be implemented smoothly. To ensure a longer term success the Department will have to bite the bullet on the short-term costs.

Another crucial issue is the survey. I accept all the difficulties with the survey approach but, like everyone else, I see no better way of doing it, unfortunately. One of the difficulties with the DEIS survey is that it is now horrendously and ridiculously out of date, and yet there is an unwillingness to look into it because it would mean additional resources and moving resources and there are always difficulties moving resources from one school to the next.

There are schools whose social profile has changed dramatically in the years since the survey and they are being starved of resources because of the social change. There may be situations in which the principal perhaps was not as creative as she could have been or did not stress the social profile as much as she should have. Perhaps a new principal came in three or four years later only to be left wondering how on earth the school did not have DEIS band 1 status given the group of children and yet there is nothing the new principal can do to change it. It will be crucial not only to get the right type of survey in place in the first place but to ensure a real commitment that it will be reviewed regularly. Otherwise no one will have any faith in the system. The DEIS programme is fantastic but the fact it has not been reviewed is causing issues for schools and resentment in the system. It is long out of date.

The process of transitioning and ensuring the survey is up to date will be crucial in ensuring this works properly. These are both resource issues and, therefore, I respect that they are issues for the Minister more than for anyone before the committee. This will be the meat in respect of whether it works and whether and how it takes off properly as a model.