Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is very important that we look at what is working. What the principals have told us in the north inner-city is that a model has been put in place there to deal with the horrendous situation of the feud in which so many people have been murdered and traumatised. A model has been put in place there so we do not need to reinvent the wheel or undertake trials and studies. The evidence is there. Even the OECD admits that gaps remain in the outcomes for children in areas of high deprivation. We know that on the ground from experience. The principals who are working on the front line and who deal with this, day in, day out, are the people who know what is required. Why? It is because they are doing the job with extremely limited resources. They are dealing with young children and students with high needs with very few resources.

It is important that we look at what is working and then implement that in the areas that are crying out for support. I have worked with schools for many years. Principals do not sit around or waste their time. They are extremely busy people. They have taken it upon themselves to put a network together to demand support, not for themselves or their schools, but for the high needs students in areas of high deprivation. It is the very least we can do for those highly skilled professionals who are doing that work, day in, day out, on the front line.

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