Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Again, I will answer on behalf of my colleague, the Minister, who could not make it to the House today and who sends her apologies. I thank the Senator for raising this matter. It is an important issue and one that many of us have seen in our own areas. The current policy of my Department in relation to school amalgamations involving DEIS and non-DEIS schools is that where such an amalgamation occurs, DEIS status is not retained by the newly established school. However, as a transitional measure, these schools continue to be supported by way of additional financial and non-teaching resources in respect of the number of eligible pupils from the former DEIS school.

This transitional measure remains in place for a specific period of time. Once the new school has been operating for six school years, it is deemed that the cohort of disadvantaged students from the former DEIS school will have passed through the second level system or be in their final year of schooling. Accordingly, any additional resources and funding, which would have been based on the final enrolment of the now closed DEIS school, would cease. This arrangement supports the pupil cohort of the former DEIS school for the duration of their second level education and represents a continuation of support for this targeted group.

As the Senator will be aware, the programme for Government commits to addressing educational disadvantage and delivering better outcomes for students in disadvantaged areas. The recently published ESRI report, Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS, which was commissioned by my Department, provides an opportunity to review the scheme. The report assesses the main findings of research to date on the DEIS programme and provides advice to inform future policy direction in respect of educational disadvantage.

As the Senator may also be aware, the Minister, Deputy O'Sullivan, has commenced consultation with the education partners to inform the development of appropriate measures to continue to support those at risk of poor educational outcomes. She is also establishing an inter-departmental working group, which will ensure a joined-up approach to the delivery of DEIS services. A technical group has already commenced work to develop a revised identification process for schools. This work will continue over the course of the next school year. The consultation process will encapsulate all aspects of the DEIS programme, including the arrangements for school amalgamations involving DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Hopefully the issue the Senator has raised will also be addressed through that.

The outcome of this process will form part of an overall proposal for the delivery of future interventions to tackle educational disadvantage. In the meantime, the Minister does not propose to make any changes to current policy as regards the status of new schools involving the amalgamation of DEIS and non-DEIS schools. I thank the Senator once again for raising this matter.