Educational Disadvantage
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-10
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Pat Buckley (SF), Cork East

I thank the Minister of State for taking this question. As a Sinn Féin TD representing Cork East, and in line with my party's strong focus on tackling inequality and investing in disadvantaged communities, I ask for his active support in progressing fair DEIS provisions for students in Youghal who are experiencing persistent socioeconomic disadvantage. The Youghal urban area is home to 7,075 people: 5,276 adults and 1,799 children. The sociodemographic profile of the town shows that significant populations within the town experience varying degrees of disadvantage.
In January 2023, the board of management of Gaelscoil Choráin submitted a comprehensive, evidence-based submission to the Department of education seeking consideration under DEIS urban band 1. The submission was grounded in objective data, including the Pobal HP Deprivation Index, the Youghal community profile and Barnardos documentation, all of which demonstrated entrenched and persistent disadvantage in the school community. That same month, An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, visited Gaelscoil Choráin and other schools in Youghal and witnessed at first hand the scale of complexity of disadvantage affecting students and families and acknowledged the significant challenges facing schools across the town. In June 2023, the Department of education refused DEIS urban band 1 status to the school. However, critically, the correspondence acknowledged the challenges faced by Gaelscoil Choráin and stated the submission would contribute to future work examining the allocation of resources to tackle educational disadvantage, including through a review process informed by updated deprivation data and the OECD analysis.
Since 2023, the socio-economic circumstances affecting this community have not improved. On the contrary, the concentration of need in the school has intensified. Gaelscoil Choráin serves a school community located in a designated revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, RAPID, town where disadvantage is persistent, cumulative and well documented. Independent and objective data sources, including the Pobal HP deprivation index, the Youghal community profile and the Barnardos document, clearly demonstrate a concentration of socio-economic disadvantage that significantly impacts students' educational, social and emotional well-being. Without the DEIS urban band 1 supports, this school is structurally constrained in its ability to deliver equitable educational outcomes for students experiencing sustained socio-economic disadvantage. Schools serving communities with comparable profiles benefit from reduced class sizes, targeted staffing supports and integrated DEIS interventions. These students do not, despite the clear evidence of need.
I am speaking on behalf of the principal of the school. The Minister of State heard about these situations from the previous speaker and other TDs as well. There is more than one school in my area of east Cork that is struggling without assistance. Principals in many schools in my area are reaching out. I met the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy McEntee, and we were promised at private meetings additional classes for people with autism and special needs and additional SNAs, and told that if the school principals asked for them, they got them. At the time, I told the Minister I knew of six principals where those supports were not forthcoming.
I will stick to this school under Topical Issue Matters. I appeal to the Minister of State in his position - I again thank him for his presence tonight - to try to push for this, take it on board and progress it because we are all here to help people.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-10