I thank the Deputy for his Topical Issue. It gives me the opportunity to update the Dáil about investment in schools in Kerry but, more importantly, it shows that the Deputy is in touch with all the school communities, which is hugely important. All Deputies from all sides of the House are engaging with school communities because they are a hugely important piece. They are educating our young people and are meeting many challenges head on both at leadership level in the schools and as teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, for which I commend them. The Deputy mentioned a number of schools in Kerry. I do not have the exact details of all the schools but I will endeavour to get them. I want to reassure the Deputy that we are aware of the challenges faced right across the country with regard to the schools estate, particularly in County Kerry. The Deputy will be aware that over €7.55 billion has been included in the sectoral investment plan for education and youth over the next four years. This plan has a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritising building projects to meet the most urgent needs. The plan includes 105 schools across the country, three of which are in Kerry. Since 2020, the Department of Education and Youth has provided €148 million in capital funding for schools in Kerry. Over this period, a total of 66 schools have been upgraded either through the provision of new school buildings, large-scale extensions or modular accommodation. More than 160 small-scale improvement projects were also completed in Kerry during that time. Eleven school projects in Kerry are under construction while another three projects will go to tender or construction in the 2026-27 period. The Deputy mentioned a number of schools awaiting special classes. A total of 70 special classes have been sanctioned in County Kerry over the past five years, of which 17 have been sanctioned for September 2026. The Deputy spoke about the minor works scheme. A number of grants are available to schools such as minor works grants, ICT grants, the summer works scheme and the emergency works scheme. The Deputy gave a reasonably good tour of the kingdom of Kerry in respect of the schools he mentioned and asked me to do a number of things. We are constantly reviewing the funding mechanisms and the capital investment in our schools right across the country. Visits to some schools would have shown that minor works or emergency works would not be enough to deal with the scale of the work that needs to be done. We are acutely aware of the challenges. The Deputy put his point very well with regard to a school that increased its capacity and floor size and still remained at the same level of the minor works scheme. I will certainly go back to the Department and look at that. On the Presentation school and the toilet facilities, these are urgent matters that need to be dealt with. The Deputy has made several representations across the school communities in Kerry and I endeavour to take up those issues with him. As for the schools he has mentioned, I will certainly look for an update on them to ensure there is an investment in the schools, starting with the most urgent. I will also meet the Deputy to go through the list of schools he is progressing. In the not-too-distant future, if the visas will be stamped, I hope to get across the border to the kingdom as well.

Sentiment score: 0.28

I thank Deputy Cahill for his closing remarks. I take the point very seriously. He has very eloquently put the challenges facing several schools he has listed on the Dáil record as regards funding and some basic infrastructure. As a country, we have been very proud of our education system that has developed over many years but it is crucial because you have to have the right working environments for the teaching communities, leadership, teachers, SNAs and all the school communities together. More importantly, it is crucial to deliver a first-class education system. We have a huge amount of funding in place in terms of the capital funding over the next while, but we also have a huge amount of schools where there is competing demand to try to meet that. The Deputy mentioned seven schools, and if I have missed any one of them the Deputy might correct me on it, but I will endeavour to find out exactly what the issues are with each of those and report back to him. On the minor works and all the other schemes, the summer works scheme was started many years ago and has allowed funding to go into schools. It was the intention at the time that the works would be done over the summer holidays to allow for the least disruption but it has moved on from that. I take the point regarding some of the schools the Deputy mentioned, particularly in Dingle and the structural deficit that is there. I will endeavour to get a full update for him on them. He can rest assured the Government is very committed to funding schools right across the country, particularly in County Kerry. We have seen the benefit of education and the Deputy mentioned several schools that have indicated they wish to have special classes. We are working meticulously through numbers at present and I will certainly come back to the Deputy on the schools he has raised with me as a matter of urgency. I assure Deputy Cahill that I take seriously the issues he has raised regarding the school estates across Kerry. I will endeavour to make sure any bureaucracy or red tape that is holding up any the projects is cut through to deliver for him and for County Kerry.

Sentiment score: 0.20

I thank both Deputies for raising the issue. On a serious note, I always admire when constituency colleagues come together on issues of education. It shows the depth of knowledge and commitment they have to education and I have seen that in several constituencies, so I compliment them on that. Addressing the education disadvantage and ensuring every child and young person can reach their full potential is key for both me and my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Naughton. We look at this and the supports we give to children as leading to better outcomes for their lives individually, as well as for society. The DEIS plus scheme represents a significant expansion of the targeted education supports. It is designed to provide enhanced, evidence-based support to 121 schools with the very highest concentration of children and young people experiencing persistent and intergenerational disadvantage. Approximately 30,000 children and young people nationally will benefit from inclusion in the scheme. The Deputies raised issues in relation to schools in disadvantaged areas of Drogheda not being included in the scheme. At the outset, I acknowledge the very real challenges faced by the school communities in Drogheda, as well as the commitment of the school leadership, teachers and the entire school community who work continuously to support children and families facing complex and entrenched difficulties. It is important to stress that a school not being included in DEIS does not imply that disadvantage does not exist within that school's community. The DEIS plus schools were identified using a rules-based model built on nationally available pupil-level administrative data. This model draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage, including small-area disadvantage, lone parents, unemployment, Traveller or Roma identity and children living in State-funded emergency accommodation. These indicators are applied consistently across all schools using enrolment data from the past three years. In order to be included under the model, schools must demonstrate both a level of disadvantage significantly higher than the national average and a high concentration of pupils from very or extremely disadvantaged areas. Schools can experience significant levels of challenge and need but still fall outside the thresholds required for inclusion in this very targeted scheme. A school-led application or self-reporting process would introduce inconsistencies and inequality, which is why a data-driven and national comparative approach is essential. The OECD review of the DEIS identification model highlighted the strengths of this approach, noting that it is multidimensional, general data protection regulation compliant and places no administrative burden on the schools. The Department also recognises that some schools operate in particularly difficult local environments, where community pressures can impact well-being, engagement and learning. While such pressures are often well understood locally, they are not always captured in the datasets that can be fairly and consistently applied across the entire school system. A rules-based national model must consider all schools on the same basis; it cannot substitute locally known challenges for data that are not available or comparable nationwide. When applied to schools in Drogheda, the model reflected disadvantage but not at the level of concentration required for inclusion in DEIS plus. However, DEIS schools in Drogheda continue to receive significant supports. DEIS grant allocations have been recalculated under the new model, with a number of schools receiving increased funding, and all continue to have access to a full home school community liaison co-ordinators. Additionally, three schools in Drogheda benefit from further staffing supports under the DEIS urban band 1 enhanced capitation rate, as recommended by the Geiran report, providing additional teaching capacity and stability. This measure has been recently extended and all schools have been notified. The appeals process for schools not included in DEIS plus is now open, with full details available on the Department of education's website.

Sentiment score: 0.11

In the first instance, the appeal process is there. I am sure the school communities are engaging to ensure that appeals are submitted. Going back to the challenges in relation to this matter, we have often seen that the criteria being used are very robust. The data collection is also very robust. The challenge here is that the Deputies have given me figures in relation to percentages of unemployment and lone parents and information in respect of IPAS centres. It is hugely important that we have a robust system that goes through all the schools and that the resources that are put in for DEIS plus, or even DEIS in the first instance, are robust enough that we can understand it and stand over it. What the Deputies have outlined is serious, particularly as they see flaws in the system. It is hugely important that this is demonstrated in any appeal that is put forward by the school communities in relation to DEIS plus. These are robust mechanisms that have been considered in the context of international best practice. To be fair, the review in that regard was very complimentary regarding the system. We are trying to make sure that the scarce resources available to the State are targeted at and reaching the most vulnerable. What the Deputies have outlined would certainly give me food for thought in the context of the percentages they mentioned in a number of instances, such as the figures relating to lone parents and unemployment. I appeal to them to make sure that the school communities include that information in their appeals. I take this opportunity to reassure them that the system is robust enough to ensure that those data will be taken into consideration into the future. The wider points the Deputies made in relation to Drogheda and the large urban centre are not lost on me.

Sentiment score: 0.34