Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for speaking on this issue with such passion. He has a lot of knowledge in this area. He has seen the benefits that DEIS has provided with those extra supports in terms of schools where there are a variety of challenges. There are disadvantages areas and students from all different backgrounds. I have also seen first-hand in my own constituency the benefits those extra DEIS supports can bring. This is why, in the previous Government, we committed to the roll-out of DEIS plus to increase those supports and increase the number of students who would benefit from them. Fair play to the Deputy; he has quite accurately highlighted the benefits of it and also the incredible work that teachers, SNAs, principals and staff do right across the board.

The Department spends over €180 million annually, providing additional supports to almost 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme and reaching approximately 250,000 children. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is committed to narrowing the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introducing innovative solutions to address disadvantage. Recent research, including the OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland have highlighted the role of the DEIS programme in providing an education system that consistently outperforms many other OECD countries but also exhibits relative socioeconomic fairness, making it one of the stronger performers globally. This research has also highlighted, however, important differences in outcomes persist for students who experience very high levels of deprivation.

That is why the Government is committed to providing a DEIS plus scheme to support schools with the highest levels of disadvantage. To meet this commitment, the DEIS plus scheme will provide additional support to schools with the highest levels of educational disadvantage and seek to improve education outcomes for children and young people in these schools. The scheme will provide very targeted supports to those who most need it, to tackle the impact of intergenerational disadvantage and to empower them to achieve their potential through education.

Work to develop the scheme is well advanced and the Minister is engaging with Cabinet colleagues to secure the necessary funding for the scheme through the budgetary process. A DEIS plus design advisory group worked with the Department officials to develop the proposal for the scheme. The needs of the children and young people drove the development work. The group includes school principals, home school community liaison officers, and school completion programme co-ordinators. These are professionals who work directly with children experiencing high intergenerational disadvantage. The Department has also engaged directly with children and young people to inform this work. The focus is on shaping a DEIS plus scheme that will support schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage to meet the needs of the children.

The Department is also actively engaging with other Departments and agencies, education partners, and stakeholders across the education sector to develop the DEIS plus scheme and aims to integrate and build on existing whole-of-government supports. The culmination of all this work will see the achievement of the programme for Government commitment to deliver a new DEIS plus scheme, to provide targeted support for schools with the highest levels of educational disadvantage, and improve outcomes for children and young people.

As Deputy Kenny can see from this response, a whole lot of work and effort has already gone into designing DEIS plus. It is well advanced and there has been significant stakeholder engagement. The Deputy asked specifically when it can be rolled out. We do not have an answer to that right now but, in fairness, by the Deputy highlighting it and highlighting the importance of it this does accelerate and put the spotlight on the need to roll out DEIS plus as quickly as possible.

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