Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The question relates to the DEIS programme. The issue with the programme is that it has not really been expanded at all since it was established by the Fianna Fáil Government in 2006, with no new schools admitted to it since 2009. The Minister has been telling us there is a review of the programme under way. We had expected an announcement before Christmas on the programme's expansion. The Minister's own action plan called for this to be achieved in the last quarter of last year, I believe, but it has not been achieved. There are many schools that qualify for the programme but which cannot participate because the opportunity simply does not exist or because they cannot be admitted.

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