Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The points raised by the Deputy and others on DEIS schools are very much to the forefront of the package that will be announced in the coming days or weeks. All aspects of DEIS provision are being considered. I want to acknowledge and be clear that there is already a reduced pupil-teacher ratio. It is very significant and important that it be there but it exists already in the DEIS schools. There are 887 schools in the DEIS programme serving 20% of the school population. In the 2020 programme, €120 million was spent on DEIS initiatives and on supporting the programme. I am a great supporter of all the tremendous work that is being done in the DEIS schools, which I acknowledge.

I will keep an open mind on the disadvantage committee. I can discuss that with Deputy Nolan again.

Regarding the additional well-being supports that are being offered, I am conscious of the need for such supports for the entire school community and the school leadership specifically, which is the matter the Deputy raised. One of the first initiatives in that regard was to acknowledge the amount of work being done in schools and the need for assistance to be offered to principals. This involved the establishment of school teams to take on any additional workload that schools believed had been placed on their shoulders. A public health webinar is being set up for school leaders, as is a well-being webinar. Additional days have been made available to schools, particularly for teaching principals. I acknowledge the work being done by Spectrum.Life for the entire school community, not just school leaders. We are conscious of the need to be as supportive as we can. In a normal environment, the work of school leaders and school communities is difficult and challenging. That is even more the case in a Covid-19 environment. We are working with the educational partners and we are keen to meet needs as they arise. For that reason, we are providing additional supports - not just well-being supports, but also workload supports. Did I miss any questions?