Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Everything is on the table in terms of class size. That is the reason the working group was set up. It includes representatives from the social inclusion unit, the special education unit, the teacher allocation unit, the statistics unit, education stakeholders such as the INTO, the Irish Primary Principals' Network and the Catholic Primary School Management Association. Education and Training Boards Ireland and An Foras Pátrúnachta were also represented on the working group, as was the Education Research Group, so it is a fairly extensive group. It has done a lot of work. That work is almost complete. We will be producing that report in a few weeks' time. All aspects of class size will be examined.

There is a twin-track approach. While that is going on we are reviewing the DEIS scheme. We are at a significant stage now in respect of that. I am aware it is an area of interest to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle in terms of the value of DEIS, its impact and the history of DEIS. It was introduced in 2005, very much on a geographical basis due to the socioeconomic indicators, but life has got much more complex. The Deputy raised issues to do with crime and other pressures on the system. We have to be very targeted in respect of the support.

Regarding the working group, that work is almost complete. We will be following through on that in a few weeks' time. Significant progress has been made in respect of the review of DEIS as a collective. It is more nuanced and complex but we have to ensure that it is targeted. There is a massive amount of work involved in that. That is not to take from anything we have already but to build upon the momentum because there has been massive gains in respect of tackling educational disadvantage through DEIS supports.

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