Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the same to all my colleagues in the House as well. We just had the penultimate Leaders' Questions and my last of the season. I put it to the Taoiseach that the programme for Government committed to publishing a new updated action plan for educational inclusion with a particular focus on DEIS schools. Emphasis was to be put on a broad-based package of measures, which would encompass all aspects of education impacted by disadvantage. One learns from today'sedition of The Irish Timesthat 250 schools across the country that applied for inclusion in the DEIS scheme were excluded and that only 79 have been added to the scheme. Will the Taoiseach indicate why that happened? Why was there an absolute lack of transparency in respect of those particular schools being excluded from the DEIS programme? Children from a disadvantaged background are essentially being refused inclusion in a scheme that could assist them in their educational achievements.

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