Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his office for allowing me to raise this issue. This is a simple case of bureaucracy gone mad and in so doing, it has affected the chances of the approximately 450 students of Coláiste Pobail Acla. This school is the product of an amalgamation in 2011 of McHale College, Achill, which had 450 students, and Scoil Damhnait, which had far fewer students. It is a fantastic school and is the only secondary school on Achill Island. However, prior to the merger, McHale College, the bigger school with more than 450 students, had been designated as a Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, school and therefore had the important advantages and supports that go with such a designation in respect of this successful scheme. After the merger, the DEIS status was removed and while the transitional supports for a DEIS school that is moving were put in place for the leaving certificate cohort of students, that transition has now come to an end. Nothing changed about the profile of the students or the economic position in the area, which had worsened considerably. All that changed was the name over the door and the roll number on the Department's roll, which appears to be where the difficulty lies. As no new DEIS status has been issued since 2006, the putting in place of a new roll number meant that DEIS status could not be extended to the new school, which I reiterate was the amalgamation of two existing schools. Mayo VEC, which had been the patron of McHale College, gave guarantees that DEIS status would be retained on the basis of assurances from the Department of Education and Skills. However, it was confirmed in July 2014, through the Higher Education Access Route, HEAR, programme, that the new entity was not in fact a DEIS school and was not entitled to the DEIS supports. When I questioned the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, late last year in this regard, she confirmed this and stated the transitional supports would be in place for six years.

This is a crazy situation for a school with 450 students that had DEIS status but which merged, in the interests of educational opportunity, with a school that on its closing day had 30 pupils. The 450 students lost their DEIS status through no fault of their own and through no fault of the boards of management or the fantastic staff. It makes no sense and is a case of bureaucracy gone mad and of no one willing to take ownership of the issue. All the feeder national schools are designated as DEIS status, the entire island and the community around it are designated as areas of high disadvantage, particularly in respect of rural disadvantage. I have consistently and constantly made the point that DEIS struggles to capture rural disadvantage in particular. This problem with DEIS, which is a fantastic programme, has extended through the lifetime of several Governments.

The Minister is reviewing the entire DEIS scheme at present and I note that another anomaly has arisen on the other side of the county, that is, in Inver national school, Erris. There are 22 national schools in Erris, all of which - with one exception - have been designated with DEIS status. The reason Inver national school is not so designated is the school did not apply in time. It has nothing to do with the profile of its pupils or with the disadvantage it faces. While I acknowledge the Minister of State will not be in position to provide it to me today, I would appreciate an update on that school.

I reiterate this is a case of bureaucracy gone mad. All that changed here was a roll number. Nothing else changed but the students are now paying for that mistake.

The staff are also paying for the mistake, although they continue to provide a fantastic education in spite of it. Will the Minister of State knock some heads together in the Department and bring some sense to the equation?

See this speech in context