I wish the same to all my colleagues in the House as well. We just had the penultimate Leaders' Questions and my last of the season. I put it to the Taoiseach that the programme for Government committed to publishing a new updated action plan for educational inclusion with a particular focus on DEIS schools. Emphasis was to be put on a broad-based package of measures, which would encompass all aspects of education impacted by disadvantage. One learns from today's edition of The Irish Times that 250 schools across the country that applied for inclusion in the DEIS scheme were excluded and that only 79 have been added to the scheme. Will the Taoiseach indicate why that happened? Why was there an absolute lack of transparency in respect of those particular schools being excluded from the DEIS programme? Children from a disadvantaged background are essentially being refused inclusion in a scheme that could assist them in their educational achievements.

I am happy to clarify that. No school applied and no school was excluded. The situation is that we provided €15 million extra for disadvantaged schools in this year's budget, in line with the plan we had published. As a result of that we have provided for 79 additional schools to join those schools already in the disadvantaged category. We have expanded the number of schools in the programme. In the context of planning for the future, my Department looked at the possibility of further extensions to the disadvantaged programme. That is where the figure the Deputy has quoted came from. It was in a reply to a freedom of information request. The Department was looking at possible scenarios, one of which was to extend the scope of disadvantage to provide for additional schools.

These schools have met the deprivation index criteria.

No, that is not the case. The criteria which were set for the inclusion of new schools were the ones that brought in the 79 new schools. We have taken no schools out of the disadvantaged category, we have only added to the number of schools within the scheme. In the future-----

Will the Minister publish all documentation on this issue?

-----we can, of course, consider additional schools. That is exactly the issue. We were looking at the possibility of expanding this programme in the future. I hope I will have the Deputy's support for such an expansion.

I call Deputy Adams.

This was discovered through a freedom of information request. The Minister was not transparent on this issue.

Please. I call Deputy Adams.

This was absolutely transparent at all times. These were documents which were prepared.

Will the Deputies respect their colleagues and allow them to ask their questions? Deputies should please respect the time provided by the House or they should change the rules.

Hear, hear.