Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to contribute to this debate, as I was not on the list of speakers. I am pleased to have an opportunity to give every encouragement to the Minister. I thank him for responding to the need to reorganise the education system. He appreciates that he can understand what is happening on the ground by visiting small and large schools throughout the country. I commend my colleague, Deputy Catherine Byrne, on her tremendous insight into particular aspects of DEIS schools in the areas she represents.

I attended the opening of an extension to St. Mary's national school in Stepaside the other day. Approximately 300 pupils from 30 different nationality backgrounds attend the school. It was a joyous experience to see the colourful artwork and craftwork on the walls of the school. I was uplifted by the vibe of the school, which comprises a cut stone building that is over 100 years old and a new building that adjoins it sympathetically and seamlessly, with wonderful light and space. When the children were singing songs and playing tunes on the recorder, they covered the old traditions of Ireland and the new traditions of the pop culture that travels across borders.

I would like to pick up on an aspect of what Deputy Catherine Byrne said. There are some DEIS schools in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area. When I spoke to the principal of one of these schools for more than an hour recently, I was saddened to hear of her distress about the falling numbers at her school. It was quite similar to what Deputy Byrne described. It seems that certain primary schools, which are not perceived to be DEIS schools, have a magnetic draw. There is a suggestion that attending those schools is of assistance when it comes to getting places in certain secondary schools. That compounds the problem described by the Deputy.

It is sad that a principal and her team - I would describe them as human gold - are being demoralised by the depletion of pupil numbers at their school, which is being undermined by other schools that are nearer to a certain secondary school and perceived to be feeder schools for that school. I remind the Minister that we have an opportunity to stop this phenomenon. It should be stopped, if it can be. As Deputy Catherine Byrne said, perhaps we should stop using labels. We can give support to DEIS schools without using the word "DEIS". We should merely say a school needs further investment in teachers and facilities. We should say we are doing something for a school because the need for it is apparent without giving a label to the school. Labels can be dangerous. They can become compounding.

I wish the Minister well as he continues to work in support of the education system. I remind him that when great people reflect on their lifetime's work, regardless of the field of endeavour from which they come, they usually say they had wonderful teachers.

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