Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that. I received that communication today. I hope that happens. The basis on which that engagement will happen depends on where the process is. Are the criteria finalised? Can the Minister tell me that? That would have been an area that the Opposition might have hoped to offer constructive thoughts on.

I am not sure I can think of a single Deputy who does not want to see DEIS expanded, who does not support the programme or does not want to see it deliver what it can. I do not know if there is a single Deputy who would not have welcomed what happened in the budget but we want to make sure that every school that deserves it has the best chance. We know there were issues with the previous criteria. The criteria did not, for example, take into account rent supplement, and the housing assistance payment, HAP, did not even exist at the time. There are all sorts of issues. It is not always the case that the profile of the students match the immediate physical area. In urban areas there can be schools cheek by jowl that are quite different. There can be big differences between schools even though they are within the same community. We would have liked to inform the criteria. I have a direct question for the Minister and I would like her to answer it directly and clearly. Is the criteria finalised?

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