Desmond College

The facts

What DEIS means here

DEIS Post-primary. This is extra staffing, a Home School Community Liaison coordinator, School Completion Programme access, enhanced capitation, free State exam fees, and eligibility for the HEAR Scheme for reduced-points college entry.

Post-primary DEIS benefits: Free State examination fees for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate, Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) coordinator, School Completion Programme, and eligibility for the HEAR Scheme (Higher Education Access Route) offering reserved university places at reduced CAO points across Irish universities.

Worth knowing: several things people associate with DEIS are now available in every school. Schoolbooks are free at primary and post-primary regardless of DEIS status, and since 2025 all primary schools are eligible for the hot school meals programme. What remains specific to DEIS is the staffing — reduced class sizes in Urban Band 1, the Home School Community Liaison coordinator, School Completion Programme access and enhanced capitation.

Band as published in the Department's DEIS list, last revised 2022-10-12.

What DEIS is, band by band, HEAR college entry, and whether it says anything about how good a school is →

Special classes

3 special classes sanctioned for 26/27:

• 2 × Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorders
• 1 × Mild General Learning Disability

Source: National Council for Special Education. Children in a special class travel under a separate transport scheme with its own rules.

The area around this school

School planning area: Newcastlewest. This is how the Department plans where to build capacity. It is not a catchment.

Local house prices: the median residential sale price in Eircode district V42 (Newcastle West) was €257,500 in 2025. That is up 66.7% since 2020. CSO figures for the whole district, not the streets beside the school.

Area profile: the Pobal HP Deprivation Index rates Newcastle Urban at -5.89 (Marginally Below Average), where 0 is the national average. 30% of adults there hold a third-level qualification.

Contact

Other schools in Newcastlewest

• Carrickerry N S Primary school, Limerick
• Gaelscoil O Doghair Primary school, Limerick
• Kilmeedy N S Primary school, Limerick
• Mahoonagh N S Primary school, Limerick
• Monagea National School Primary school, Limerick
• S N Cill Lachtain Primary school, Limerick
• S N Molua B Primary school, Limerick
• Scoil Ide Naofa Primary school, Limerick
• Scoil Mhuire Primary school, Limerick
• Scoil Mhuire & Íde Secondary school, Limerick
• Scoil O Curain B Primary school, Limerick
• St Josephs Convent Primary school, Limerick