Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very grateful to the Deputy for raising this case of Scoil Bhríde Lann Léire in Dunleer. I appreciate his consistent advocacy on behalf of this school and the town of Dunleer.

The Department of Education provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the DEIS programme is a key policy initiative of the Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.

Schools that were identified for inclusion in the programme were those with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage as identified through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model was applied fairly and equally to all schools.

Schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS identification model to their school enrolment data were provided with the opportunity to have that outcome reviewed. The DEIS appeals process was applied fairly across all appellants, however, this school did not appeal at that time. The window for appeals has now closed and the results, as the Deputy may be aware from parliamentary questions, are final.

The extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one component of work in the Department’s vision for an inclusive education system that supports all learners to achieve their potential. The Department has invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and inform a policy approach for allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools.

A number of measures were introduced in the budget to reduce the cost of education such as the provision of free school books for all primary and special school pupils and funding for hot meals. Crucially, as part of the cost-of-living and capitation funding package in budget 2024, the Department of Education secured €21 million as a permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and in the longer term with increased day-to-day running costs. The first-year cost of this increase is €7 million and the full-year cost in 2025 is €21 million, combined with €60 million in cost-of-living funding bringing the total to €81 million. This will support a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools from September 2024. This will bring the basic rate of capitation to €200 per student in primary schools and €345 in voluntary secondary schools. Enhanced rates will also be paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs. This represents an increase of circa 9.2% of current standard and enhanced capitation rates.

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