I previously articulated the serious difficulties and challenges faced by the community of Tipperary town. The area suffers from extremely high levels of long-term unemployment. In 2016, 40% of men and 26% of women in the Tipperary east urban area were unemployed. Some 40% of the households in the town are rented, half of which are socially rented from the local authority. This points to income levels and a lack of employment opportunities. Third level attainment is approximately half the national average, pointing to social deprivation issues in early childhood, 15% of the population identifies as non-Irish national and 36% of all families with children under the age of 15 are headed by lone parents. The social deprivation index for the town is quite stark. It is categorised as very disadvantaged.

In 2018, led by March4Tipp, 5,000 people took to the streets in a massive show of community resolve and determination. This was a cry for help which resonated nationally. I, along with community groups, called for the establishment of a multi-agency task force to address the massive problems facing the community. I am glad the task force is working diligently and effectively with the co-operation and support of multiple local organisations.

The most significant socioeconomic problem facing Tipperary town is the ever-increasing heavy traffic which travels through it on a daily basis. Each week, more than 85,000 traffic movements occur through the centre of the town, stifling retail and other economic activity and choking the very life out of the town. When one adds to the mix the massive post-Brexit increases in traffic in and out of Rosslare Europort, it is apparent that the town is at breaking point. Shops and other businesses struggle to keep their doors open in an environment where shoppers cannot park or move about safely. Many businesses have, unfortunately, succumbed to the pressure and closed their doors. The commercial vacancy rate in Tipperary town, at 31%, is higher than that for towns in most other counties. Traffic on the N24 is killing the town.

The whole community rejoiced when the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, agreed with my proposal that the planned Cahir to Limerick Junction N24 project needs to be prioritised, with the section that will bypass Tipperary town being commenced and completed as a priority. Prioritising the section around Tipperary town will deliver the best results for the long-suffering local community and in the context of the flow of goods throughout the wider region. The opportunity to make a profound and lasting difference to the future of Tipperary town is within our grasp. Will the Taoiseach deliver vital help to a very deserving town and community? It is time to give Tipperary town back to the people.

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising this important issue. All Oireachtas Members from Tipperary are united in revitalising Tipperary town and addressing social disadvantage and deprivation there. As the Deputy said, the entire community came together publicly to demonstrate its concerns but, above all, its objectives in terms of revitalising the town and its hinterland and providing for greater social inclusion.

The task force has been created. The recruitment of a dedicated project manager and the production of the collaborative town centre health check have taken place as part of the contributions by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am interested in working with the task force and all involved in a multi-agency approach, which is key and essential.

Traffic congestion in Tipperary town is very severe. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, met all the local Deputies on 12 March. He agreed that there were congestion issues in the town and that there was broad support for a bypass. The Deputy is correct in identifying the Minister's preferences in terms of the review of the NDP. In that context, the Minister is keen on the option for smaller bypasses which address immediate congestion in town centres and can be delivered on a shorter timescale to support the town centres first strategy. It will need further development and consideration and it is under active consideration by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in consultation with the Cabinet economic committee in respect of those issues.

As Deputy Lowry knows, the NDP includes the proposed N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction improvement scheme, which includes a bypass of Tipperary town. I am aware that opinions have been expressed in Tipperary County Council that a short-term relief road should be built to the south of the town in an effort to immediately relieve the congestion that exists there, rather than wait for the completion of the major scheme. These are issues we will actively consider. We understand the urgency and importance of it but also the broader picture that, where we have communities that need additional help and assistance, we should, across all Departments, go the extra mile in facilitating and doing things rather than putting them on the long finger. That is my approach to this. It is part of a wider Government initiative in which we are working on a new programme to try to help areas of significant disadvantage. This would involve all Government Departments and agencies doing extra to facilitate early alleviation of that disadvantage. The Minister for Education is also working on educational disadvantage as well.

I thank the Taoiseach and appreciate his support.

I raise also the omission of DEIS - Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools - status for schools in Tipperary town, which needs to be advanced and concluded. The omission of these schools, both primary and secondary, from the DEIS programme in 2017 was wrong and an injustice. This was acknowledged when the Department of Education yielded to pressure and reviewed the circumstances of these schools. As a result, an interim package of resources was implemented across all five primary schools. This package was, thankfully, renewed last week and will remain in place until the national review is completed. What is the current status of the national review and will the new DEIS programme be published and implemented for the September term?

I also ask the Taoiseach to use his office to clear the impediment to the granting of a school meal allowance for St. Anne's Secondary School. Funding has been granted by the Department of Social Protection but has not been sanctioned or implemented by the Department of Education. I would appreciate it if the Taoiseach could assist me in resolving this issue for the school.

I will follow up on the school meals issue. I do not know how these issues keep on cropping up at the bureaucratic level. Significant funding has been provided by the Government in respect of school meals and our wish is that the money would get out there to schools.

An extensive body of work has been undertaken on the national review of the whole DEIS identification model, based on the latest school enrolment data and the data available from the 2016 census under the HP deprivation index. Quality analysis of this has been carried out by members of the DEIS team, which includes representatives of the Department of Education's statistics and social inclusion unit, the inspectorate and the Educational Research Centre. The consultation process with the stakeholders in education has commenced on the implementation of this model and work is now ongoing on the final elements of the model. That will provide the basis for the development of a DEIS resource allocation system to match resources and identified need. I have been speaking with the Minister in this regard, in terms of the broader programme, and obviously this is something we want to process as quickly as we possibly can.