Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Office of the Ceann Comhairle accepting this subject as a Topical Issue. I want to make a strong appeal, through the Minister of State, to the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton. I appeal to the Minister to give urgent and detailed consideration to the very detailed application submitted by the principal and the board of management of the Convent of Mercy national school in Belturbet, County Cavan, to be included in band 1 of the urban DEIS, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, scheme. Over the years, I have been privileged to work along with the principal, the staff, the boards of management and successive parents' associations in trying to bring investment to that particular school. The school is a pivotal part of the local community and pursues as much involvement in extra-curricular activities as possible. Indeed, I have been at many of these events in the school over the years and it is a very important part of our local community in Belturbet.

The board of management submitted a detailed application. The criteria are very much based on the statistics gathered in past censuses. The Pobal indices for 2011 and 2016 all point to the inclusion of the school in the DEIS 1 band. The Department has the detail, but the position has deteriorated since and the number of areas of disadvantage has, unfortunately, increased, which considerably strengthens the school's case to be granted this status.

The Minister of State will be aware from his County Cavan connections that Belturbet is a Border town and, unfortunately, because of the Troubles when roads were blown up in the area and so on, the community suffered terribly. There has been a lack of employment opportunities in the town which has suffered from the general disadvantage that has affected Border communities. I commend the local community, those working in statutory agencies locally and the teachers who ensured they provided the best possible education for the children under their care. The DEIS designation at primary level is valuable and the school in Belturbet has submitted a strong application which meets all of the criteria laid down by the Department. According to previous correspondence with the Minister, decisions will be made at the end of quarter 1 this year. I appeal to the Minister of State to convey a strong message to the Minister who I appreciate cannot be present owing to other commitments. However, I ask the Minister of State to convey to him the strong case I have made and ensure every aspect of the application submitted by the board of management will be given detailed and favourable consideration. The community does not look for handouts. It is seeking support to enhance the school environment for all of the children. I hope the Minister of State will have positive news on the application.

See this speech in context