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

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this issue. On the issue raised by Deputy Sherlock, Deputies from all across the country, including myself, are raising the issue of the lack of places at second level, week in and week out, in this Chamber. The Minister needs to take that matter very seriously. Deputies, including myself, have raised such concerns and it is a worrying situation in all parts of the country. That is a considerable challenge for the Department of Education and Skills.

As the Minister is aware, there is currently a campaign under way calling on him to reduce class sizes for delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS, band 1 schools. The campaigners argue that it is unfair and that the smaller class sizes achieved under the confidence and supply agreement in recent budgets have not seen corresponding reductions in class sizes for DEIS band 1 schools and this needs to be rectified. I agree with those campaigners. When the pupil-teacher ratio reduction was negotiated, it was assumed that it would be passed on correspondingly to DEIS band 1 schools but it was not and we have not seen those reductions.

I am proud that the DEIS scheme was established by Fianna Fáil to provide the supports needed to ensure that every child can reach his or her potential. The DEIS scheme works and it should be protected and enhanced so that children from disadvantaged backgrounds can have a greater opportunity to reach their full potential. The DEIS scheme appears to be working.

The Minister will know that the evaluation of DEIS schools at the post-primary level shows that the achievement and attainment gaps between DEIS and non-DEIS post-primary schools continue to narrow in the performance of students in the junior certificate and in retention rates. There has been a rise in the percentage of students in DEIS schools taking English and mathematics at higher level. The evidence is that the scheme is working and results and school completion rates are going up in key areas. The issue is the rate at which it is improving. It is not improving at a rate that would allow pupils to compete at the same level in the very near future. While I accept that the additional supports that have been provided will take time to appear in data, there is a need to continue increasing support to speed up this process.

There is already a recognition in DEIS band 1 schools that a reduced class size is of significant value and smaller class sizes are already included in the original specification. However, the pace at which progress is taking place needs to be accelerated.

As the pupil-teacher ratio has been lowered considerably in the general national school system, the competitive boost given to DEIS band 1 schools is being eroded. This could result in the comparative progress which has been made in this area also eroding. Is the Minister considering the proposals raised previously in this House and that are currently being raised by the INTO in particular? I thank the INTO and all the teachers involved in the INTO campaign. It is refreshing that, as they have always done, teachers took time out of their own day to try to advocate for their students. I look forward to hearing the response from the Minister.

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