Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We acknowledge that five schools in County Tipperary have been accepted into the scheme, but we are discussing Tipperary town which, by any objective assessment, is an underprivileged area. Its community feels let down. Will the Minister commit to reviewing the five primary schools in the town? In any examination of the criteria they would qualify for DEIS status. Their principals are perplexed to understand how they failed. They took a co-ordinated approach because the problems in Tipperary town crossed the five schools. It is 2005 since our schools were last accepted into the DEIS programme. That is an unacceptable length of time for these schools to wait to acquire DEIS status. The town has suffered many blows during the years owing to unemployment and its people feel as if they are being let down and left behind.

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