Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Education. I want to explain to her what is wrong with the way the Department is applying DEIS school status in Ardee. There are four schools in Ardee. One of them, a post-primary school, has DEIS status, so every student who is over 12 or 13 and who goes there has DEIS status. They have special educational supports. There are three primary schools in the town. One, the Monastery National School, is essentially a boys' school. There is an Educate Together school, and there is Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire, which is essentially a girls' school. Two of the primary schools I mentioned, the Monastery National School and Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire, have been opened up to boys and girls from this year.

The difficulty is that two of the schools have DEIS status, so every boy in Ardee, whether going to school in primary or secondary school, has DEIS status and has those supports, but not every girl does, because there are 288 girls who attend Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire and they do not have DEIS status. Their brothers and the boys in the other schools have a hot lunch during the day. Girls are being discriminated against because they do not have DEIS status and they do not have a school meal because one is predicated on the other. I visited the school along with Councillor Dolores Minogue, who is a very active councillor in Ardee and who attended that excellent primary school, Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire. We spoke to the principal and the facts are that 60% of the girls attending the school have siblings attending a DEIS school. In first class, 73% of the students, who are essentially girls, have a brother or sister in one of the DEIS schools. In third class, 80% of pupils, and in sixth class, 76% of pupils have a sibling in a local DEIS school. From the very first day when a girl goes to school in the town of Ardee, she is discriminated against by DEIS decisions.

DEIS is supposed to be delivering equality of education but it is actually delivering inequality, gender bias and an unacceptable situation. The school staff tell me, and unfortunately, with the cost-of-living crisis, this is endemic in our society, that they know a number of children - that is girls - come to school with no lunch or an inadequate lunch. In fact, they are sourcing food locally and keep sliced pans and other food in their freezer for children in need. Something must change here, because the Minister is perpetuating inequality in our society - gender inequality. I am a grandparent with boys and girls as grandchildren, and by God I would not stand for that: that the boys get the lunches and get the DEIS and the girls get nothing. That has to change.

I know the school put in an appeal which was turned down. In the words of the Department, it was a fair and final decision. Well, it is not fair and it is not final. The children are entitled to a hot school meal or food and water in this primary school they go to. It is absolutely disgraceful and I cannot stand over this. I appreciate the Minister attending and await her response.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this Topical Issue matter. It has been raised with me previously by Senator McGreehan and others. At the outset I point out that Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, is the main policy initiative of the Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. The Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing these universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a targeted and equitable way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity across the primary and post-primary sectors. As the Deputy referenced, I announced a major expansion of the DEIS programme in March, which means that for the first time since 2017, programmes have significantly expanded to an additional 322 schools. The programme now includes more than 1,200 schools, and in effect this means one in four of all students are now supported in the DEIS programme.

Schools added to the programme earlier this year were identified for inclusion in the DEIS programme through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. The DEIS identification process is based on the principle of concentrated disadvantage, and that is the issue. There may well be disadvantage in various schools, but it is the concentration of disadvantage in a particular school at the particular time of the undertaking of the model that is considered. It considers the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds within a school and the relative disadvantage within a given school. The development of this model involved an extensive body of work by the DEIS technical group, which included officials from my Department, the Department's inspectorate and the Educational Research Centre. The model used information from the schools' individual enrolment database and the 2016 national census data as represented by the Pobal HP deprivation index. It also took into consideration the significant educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma learners and by students residing in direct provision or emergency homeless accommodation.

A detailed document outlining the refined DEIS identification model is published on gov.ie. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and all schools in the country were considered for inclusion under the model. It is possible for two neighbouring schools to have a different profile in terms of proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and the relative weighting of disadvantage apportioned in each school. The designation of neighbouring schools to different DEIS bands does not mean that there is no educational disadvantage present in one school but that the concentrated level of educational disadvantage of the two schools is different. Schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS identification model to their school enrolment data were provided with the opportunity to have that outcome reviewed. While the school in question did appeal this decision, there was no change to the outcome of the initial application of the refined DEIS identification model. However, my Department will continue to support the school community to deliver high-quality, inclusive teaching and learning to the students and young learners. The DEIS programme will continue to be supported by my Department and following the national census of 2022 held on 3 April last, it is envisaged that an updated HP deprivation index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in quarter 3 of 2023. The Department will engage with Pobal regarding this process. The updated Pobal HP deprivation index, when available, can then be considered by my Department to inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage. During my term as Minister, I am please to say I have increased the funding for the DEIS programme significantly. In fact, in 2023 the funding will be in the order of €180 million. This reflects a strong commitment to addressing educational disadvantage.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is the same reply the Minister gave me last week, or the week before. There has obviously been no change in the Department. I urge the Minister to inquire again into the issue of gender inequality that is arising here. I appreciate her reply but ask her to listen to the point that no girl going to a primary school in Ardee is getting DEIS support, not one, while every boy is. That is not acceptable. Every boy attending primary school in Ardee is getting a hot meal at school while no girl attending is. Twins coming from the same address with the same mum and dad walk down the street and one goes to the boys' school while the other to the girls' school. The girl asks her mammy what is wrong with her that she cannot get the additional educational teaching supports. What is wrong is the formula. The formula is wrong. I urge the Minister to look at that issue again for the people and parents of Ardee and the girls. I swear to God, I cannot believe it. I am shocked and appalled that this is the outcome. It may be an exceptional outcome and Ardee may be the only town in Ireland where it is happening but it is happening today and is going to happen tomorrow. Funnily enough, on becoming 12 years of age, they will all be disadvantaged and then will be in a DEIS school. There is something radically wrong here. I urge the Minister or her departmental officials to meet the principal of the school for a constructive engagement to discuss this issue. We have to find a solution. The pupils must be treated equally. The present DEIS is discrimination in education and it is also gender discrimination in this particular case. There is no doubt at all about it.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I note the Deputy's concerns. The extension of the DEIS programme progresses the programme for Government commitment to complete the new DEIS identification model and to extend DEIS status to schools serving the highest concentration of pupils at risk of educational disadvantage. The concentration is the issue. The recent expansion will add an additional €32 million to the Department's expenditure on the DEIS programme for 2023, bringing the overall Department of Education allocation for 2023 to €180 million. I am very conscious of the benefits of the DEIS programme, as has been articulated. Analysis has shown that since the programme began in 2006, it has helped to close the gap in achievement between schools serving the highest levels of educational disadvantage and those serving populations with little or no disadvantage. However, I recognise there are students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools, not just DEIS schools and therefore under budget 2023, I secured funding for a number of measures that will support all children in this regard. This includes over €50 million to provide, as a permanent initiative, free books for all students in primary schools. I have also further improved the staffing schedule for primary schools to a ratio of 23:1, the lowest it has ever been, to benefit all schools. It is also important to note that the extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one phase of work in my vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. The next phase of work will explore the allocation of resources to schools to tackle educational disadvantage. This will consider all schools within and outside the DEIS programme. Part of this scheme of work will involve consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

I want to be clear on this point. Where a school does not achieve DEIS status, it does not mean that educational disadvantage does not exist but that the concentration of educational disadvantage between two schools is different. Unless there is a 100% reflection of the same students in each school, then both schools will be different. The issue here is not educational disadvantage but the concentration of it in one school over another. The system is open and fair. It uses the HP deprivation index with two additional weights for children who come from a background where there is homelessness, or children from a Traveller or Roma backgrounds.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

What about the girls?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Gender is not part of this. It is about concentrated disadvantage.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister is not addressing this. It is discrimination.