Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Senator is 100% correct. We have now seen the single largest investment in the DEIS programme of €17 million and it will be €32 million next year. This has allowed the biggest number of schools ever to enter the DEIS programme and it means that one in four students is attending a DEIS programme supported school. That is as we want it. I am aware of the digital library services referred to by the Senator. Our literacy and numeracy strategy is the impetus for that and a significant body of work has been achieved in the implementation of the strategy that was first put in place in 2011 and reviewed in 2017. The Senator asked about reviews. We are now in the process of putting a new digital strategy in place and that will be in place by 2023.

I will speak about the advantage of libraries, numeracy, literacy and so on across a whole range of different fields. Our students consistently feature highly on international reading and literacy studies, the predictive early assessment: reading language, PEARLs as they are called. Irish children rate among the best in Europe and, indeed, in the OECD. That is significant.

We have had €20 million investment in libraries for books and other types of equipment that foster a culture of literacy in our schools. The Senator is correct that an ongoing review is being carried out of the junior cycle and will be completed shortly. As part of the implementation of the junior cycle, it was agreed with all stakeholders that time would be allowed for the review and it will be completed as quickly as possible. We are seeking to offer to supports to schools that are not in the DEIS programme. The Senator outlined some of the supports that are available to them. The next body of work within the Department is to look at schools outside the DEIS programme that are still in need of support. I know, as does everybody here, that children are attending schools that are not in the DEIS programme but still need supports.

Significant funding was made available in the budget to look at measures around inclusion such as home-school community liaisons, HSCLs, the school-completion programme, SCP, and other initiatives.