Cork East TD Sandra McLellan has described plans by the Minister for Education to cut funding for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils as ‘an assault on the fabric of Irish society’ and called for the immediate reversal of proposed cuts to pupil-teacher ratios.

Speaking on a Sinn Féin motion opposing the cuts Deputy McLellan said:

“The cuts to DEIS schools announced in the budget deserve particular attention not only because of the devastating effect that they will have on those children who are directly covered by the scheme, but in the broader sense, having an appreciation of the role of education, to Irish society as a whole. The very children who need the most intensive educational support with regard to literacy and numeracy will be affected the most by the proposed measures.”

“This state has, at times, had nothing less than a shameful record on education. Those children born into disadvantage were always the ones to bear the brunt. A two tier education system continues to exist in this state and schemes which went some way towards addressing it, like the DEIS scheme or free third level education are being hollowed out.”

“Equality of opportunity is what DEIS is all about. It is, at its very essence, about fairness. It’s about giving each child who through whatever quirk of geography, genetics, environment or circumstance has found themselves, from a very early age, at a disadvantage, a chance to reach their full potential. To play a full, active, positive role in society. I am calling on the Minister to immediately reverse the cuts to pupil-teacher ratios announced in the recent budget.”