Louth Labour TD Ged Nash has criticised the Department of Education’s decision to reject an appeal against the exclusion of Drogheda schools from the DEIS Plus programme.
He said schools including St Paul’s and St John’s serve communities facing significant disadvantage and called for the decision to be overturned.
Louth Labour TD Ged Nash has accused the Department of Education of “adding insult to injury” after an appeal by St Paul’s Senior National School against its exclusion from the DEIS Plus programme was rejected.
DEIS Plus provides additional teaching, support and financial resources to schools serving areas of significant disadvantage. Drogheda schools including St Paul’s and St John’s were left out of the programme earlier this year.
Deputy Nash said the schools had appealed in the belief that their exclusion was an oversight, but the rejection indicated that the decision would not be changed.
Six primary schools and one secondary school in Dundalk have been awarded DEIS Plus status. While welcoming that investment, Nash argued that the Drogheda schools serve communities experiencing similar levels of disadvantage, according to State data including the Pobal Deprivation Index.
He also questioned the Department’s DEIS Plus Identification Model, pointing to an acknowledgement in its letter to St Paul’s that some complex local pressures may not be fully reflected by the system.
Nash said the exclusion was particularly difficult to understand given the area’s inclusion in the Síol programme, which targets communities experiencing profound disadvantage.
He called on local Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael representatives to press the Minister for Education to overturn the decision, which the Department has described as final.
“The Department says this appeal decision is final, but I know these schools will not give up, nor will I,” he said.
