Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this important matter. As the Senator will be aware, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, is the main policy instrument of the Department of Education to tackle educational disadvantage at school level. DEIS schools benefit from a range of supports, including a DEIS grant, access to home school community liaison officers and a school completion programme, in addition to priority access to continuous professional development and other supports. The DEIS programme focuses on targeting additional resources at schools with the highest concentration of students at risk of educational disadvantage.

There is a strong evidence base in the Irish context that the social class mix of a school matters. This provides a rationale for providing targeted supports to certain schools identified for inclusion in the DEIS programme. This approach has been proven to reap benefits, in particular in those urban schools with higher levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage.

Yesterday, the Minister, Deputy Foley, announced the extension of the DEIS programme to include more schools at primary and post-primary level, supporting students with the highest level of educational disadvantage. This will add an additional €32 million to the Department of Education's expenditure on the DEIS programme from 2023 onwards. This is the largest ever single investment in the DEIS programme and I am proud to be part of the Government that will extend additional resources to those schools most in need.

Schools have been identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model which is an objective, statistics-based model. This model uses information from the Department of Education enrolment databases and the Pobal HP deprivation index. The model was developed through extensive work by the DEIS technical group, which involved valuable input from stakeholders. Schools are not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools.

This announcement by the Department of Education achieves the programme for Government commitment to complete the new DEIS identification model and to extend DEIS status to schools serving the highest numbers of pupils at risk of educational disadvantage. The Government will keep working towards an open and welcoming school system in which all students at risk of educational disadvantage will be supported to achieve their full potential.

I take on board the points the Senator raised regarding Scoil Na Naomh Uilig and I will highlight them with the Minister. I know the work of Noreen Duggan, the previous principal of the school who the Senator mentioned, the great efforts that happen in that school and the great model it provides in Kildare.

The Senator mentioned six schools but there are seven schools in Kildare that have secured DEIS status. They are Scoil Ída Naofa, Kilmeade; Scoil na Bhríde, Ticknevin; Scoil Bhríde, Suncroft; St. Patrick's NS, Morristown in Newbridge; Gaelscoil Átha Í in Athy; Scoil Mhichíl Naofa, Athy; and St. Conleth's National School in Derrinturn in Carbury. We recognise increased investment by Government for the provision of education in this schools but will bring back and highlight the point about Scoil Na Naomh Uilig in Newbridge.