'They're not asking for the world': TD backs principals' calls for Deis overhaul

Principals believe between 40 and 100 primary schools in very disadvantaged areas across the country could benefit from a new designation under the Deis scheme in recognition of the additional challenges they face. Picture: Flexipics/PA

Labour Party TD and education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has called on the Department of Education to respond to calls to overhaul the Deis system “immediately”.

Principals have warned the current policy is flawed, due to the broadened nature of the Deis criteria, with no recognition extra supports are needed in the hardest-hit school communities.

They believe between 40 and 100 primary schools in very disadvantaged areas across the country could benefit from a new designation under the Deis scheme in recognition of the additional challenges they face.

Mr Ó Ríordáin said the Government was “well able to tell us what tax cuts they want” and criticised a lack of calls concerning the scheme from Government ministers.

You won’t find three junior ministers from Government writing an op-ed in a newspaper about the need to invest in Deis but you’ll find it on the need to have tax cuts for middle-income earners.” 

Although crediting Education Minister Norma Foley for expanding Deis, he said the €32m expansion does not tackle the acute disadvantage these principals are highlighting.

“What the principals in Ballymun, Tallaght and my own constituency are calling for is a no-brainer and should be responded to immediately.

“I don't understand why they have to campaign around it, they're not asking for the world, they're asking for very basic interventions,” he said.

Referencing the recently announced OECD review of Deis, Mr Ó’Ríordáin said: “I don't see why we have to wait for a review to deal with these principals are saying,” before adding the review will “say these interventions are important and we probably need more of them”. 

Intergenerational trauma

Mr Ó Ríordáin said nothing had changed since he was a Deis principal in Dublin’s north east inner city, where schools are still trying to deal with intergenerational trauma.

And that's been compounded by the fact that 20 years ago, teachers like me could depend on the grandparents to step into a dysfunctional situation but we can't do that anymore because the heroin generation is now the grandparents' generation.” 

He said a principal in Tallaght has had to change the route children walk to swimming “because they're afraid of being caught in the crossfire of a feud”. 

“When it comes to conversations around crime, we always seem to have the cynical response of more guards, and that's fine but these types of interventions are the ones that actually will make a difference in the long term,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the minister was aware of several proposals from different groups of principals, while officials have met with people from a number of schools.

“In the context of work to ensure that schools are resourced to support all children to achieve their potential, officials from the department are arranging follow up consultations, which will involve the minister, to learn more about the diverse range of issues at hand and initiatives that the schools have in place in order to inform future policy.”