‘It was announced today that Tipperary Junior Boys National School, Tipperary Girls National
School, St. Joseph’s Primary School, Scoil na mBraithre and Gael Scoil Thiobraid Arann are now
officially recognised as DEIS schools’ he said on Wednesday.
‘These schools have waited a long time for this news. I have worked hard over the past few
years to have these schools included in the DEIS scheme, dealing on a regular basis with both
the Taoisigh, Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin and successive Ministers for Education, Joe
McHugh TD and Norma Foley TD
‘Since the schools were excluded in 2017, which led to an outcry, securing DEIS funding for the
schools has been a priority for me. We successful secured an Interim package for the schools,
which provided some, but not all, of the benefits that DEIS provides. Now the schools are fully
recognised and the future is brighter for many students, families and the schools themselves’
“DEIS is all about equality of opportunity in schools, meaning that children from more
challenging backgrounds and disadvantaged socio-economic situations can participate more
effectively in their education”.
The massive protests organised by March4Tipp, hugely supported by the schools, certainly
helped to move political thinking towards granting this vital approval to Tipperary Town
schools.
“DEIS will help children to complete their school education. Tipperary Town has one of the
highest levels of early school leavers. When you leave school at 13 years of age, you have so
little chance of ever gaining employment, and so the cycle of deprivation continues. DEIS will
help to change all of that”, Deputy Lowry said.
