Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I got the impression from the Minister that he would examine schools outside the DEIS scheme. Is he now saying there is no intention to review this issue? Many of the schools outside the DEIS system fit all the criteria for the DEIS programme. At the time I said it was about pulling down barriers, not putting them up. Unfortunately, some schools are being kept outside the system. We must examine such schools in the interests of fairness. I accept the difficulty the Minister faces with resources. If he had carried out a review, at least we would know the extent of the problem, which would be helpful in the debate in trying to resolve some of the issues. Perhaps I misunderstood his intentions on DEIS rural schools, but the changes are affecting them. The loss of teachers in disadvantaged schools will have a major impact. Many people, including me, were under the impression that teachers in these schools would be safeguarded while the review was ongoing.

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