Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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I am interested in hearing Mr. Cussen's response to Deputy O'Brien's question. I do not know anything about the local issues surrounding this project but I am familiar with similar tensions in my own community in the context of schools competing with each other. Often the schools that lose out are the ones that do the most for the disadvantaged. I do not know if that is the case in this situation.

The Oireachtas Library service produced a paper on schools, in which it examined an issue previously examined by this committee, namely, school choice and segregation. The document produced by the Library service referenced an ESRI study of 2012 which found that the people who are most likely to exercise choice are people who are in the professional classes and middle class and that they are more likely to choose multi-denominational schools. Another aspect of the study was that emigrants are more likely to choose multi-denominationl schools, except when controlled for class and socioeconomic background.

I was employed initially by the vocational education committee, and was deployed to the DIT but when the DIT became a distinct body separate from the VEC, I was no longer linked to the VEC.

The DIT always had a strong relationship with the State education sector and the vocational education committees, now the education and training boards. I was surprised in the case in question that it would be an Educate Together school. We have great Educate Together schools in my constituency. I think the agency needs to be aware that what matters to people locally is those enrolling in the school. Are the most disadvantaged people from the local community enrolling in the school? How does the socioeconomic background of pupils compare with those of other schools in the area? One does not want to end up competing unfairly with other schools. I know this is not exactly Mr. Cussen's area but as part of the whole overall project, Deputy O'Brien has raised an important issue.