Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I have just realised the distance to here from the extremities of Agriculture House is about the same as from Trinity College. My Adjourment matter is quite simple. The community of Togher on the south-western side of Cork city is known to be disadvantaged but not uniformly so. It is a community which straddles the city and county boundaries separated by the Tramore river. Some key community facilities such as the church, the youth drop-in centre and, most crucially, Togher boys' national school are on the county side of the river. A decision was made recently to redesignate the school as not being a DEIS school. I have tabled this Adjournment Matter to seek information on why this decision was made and when and if it can be reconsidered.

The other part of Togher includes a key piece of community infrastructure, namely, St. Finbarr's National Hurling and Football Club, adjacent to which is a very large local authority estate, Deanrock, in which many people experience a lower standard of living and many of the key people availing of important initiatives in terms of poverty alleviation through RAPID programmes and the existence of DEIS schools can be found. Many children from the area attend the school to which I refer. In addition, the school offers tuition to no fewer than 23 nationalities.

An arbitrary decision has been made, on the basis of geography, which takes no account of the sociological make-up of the school and the value of the work it has been doing. While the Minister of State may not be in a position to respond fully to this matter, I hope a process can begin whereby the decision can be reconsidered. There are not many communities or schools in the area in which I live and represent which I would categorise as being in greater need of DEIS designation or support as this community and school. On these grounds, I encourage the Minister of State, if he is not in a position to offer a full response today, to speak to the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who has represented this area in the past to ensure he is aware of the requirement not to compromise the needs of this community and that adequate Government support will continue.