Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2013
324. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a response will be issued to a parents committee (details supplied) in County Donegal with particular emphasis on the correspondence sent to him on 1 July 2012 and the follow on questions submitted to his Department following his response to their initial query; his response to the questions posed to him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4117/13]
View answerMy Department does not have a record of correspondence dated 1st July 2012 as referred to by the Deputy, however, a response to further representations from the Parents Committee of the school in question will issue from my Department shortly. My response to the questions raised may be summarised as follows:
My Department is fully committed to the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language including its proposals relating to education in the Gaeltacht and Irish-medium education. We are liaising closely with our colleagues in the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to support the systematic implementation of the numerous educational measures in the Strategy. The issues concerning schooling in the Gaeltacht are complex and require further detailed analysis before any policy decisions or initiatives are considered. Plans are in place to carry out a thorough examination of the issues and policy options at the earliest opportunity.
With regard to participation in the DEIS programme, the post-primary school in question was not selected for inclusion in DEIS as it did not meet the relevant criteria. An appeal by the school to the independent review body in 2006 confirmed that the level of disadvantage did not warrant the school's inclusion.
As announced in the 2012 Budget, five scholarship schemes for higher education were replaced with a new single scheme of bursaries based solely on merit and financial need. There are no language requirements associated with the bursaries. This change has been made in order to make the best use of the limited funds we have available for bursaries so as to focus on the best performing students in the cohort of those who are most in need of financial help.
