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

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. The Minister for Education sends her apologies that she cannot make it to the debate because she is in Cavan today, but she would like to have been part of the discussion.

In March, she announced a major expansion of the DEIS programme, for the first time since 2017, which means eligible schools will now gain access to targeted supports to address educational disadvantage. This is the largest ever single investment in the programme and it will extend DEIS status to schools serving the highest proportions of pupils at risk of educational disadvantage. From 2023, the Department of Education will spend in the region of €180 million on the DEIS programme, an increase of €32 million. This announcement follows extensive work by the DEIS technical group to develop the refined DEIS identification model to identify the concentrated levels of disadvantage of schools.

Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. While I understand the model has not picked up the school the Senator raised, the model uses information from schools’ enrolment databases and 2016 national census data, as represented by the Pobal HP deprivation index. The model takes into account the student cohort and the relative disadvantage within a given school.A detailed document outlining the refined DEIS identification model has been published on gov.ie. The DEIS identification model takes into consideration the significant educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma learners and by students residing in direct provision or emergency homelessness accommodation, which the Senator raised in the context of this discussion.

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. Schools were also provided with the opportunity to update their details on the Department’s enrolment databases, namely, the primary online database, POD, and the post-primary online database, P-POD, and St. Luke’s National School submitted an appeal as part of this process. There was no change, however, to the outcome of the DEIS status of the school. The DEIS appeals process was applied fairly to all applicants using an objective data-based approach and the results are final.

I assure the Senator the Department of Education will continue to work to support all schools and students, including through the development of further supports for students experiencing educational disadvantage. Much of the information will have been analysed but if the school believes something was missed, I will certainly convey that to the Minister in order that it can be included in the assessment. The best option may be to engage directly with the Department in respect of additional supports that could be put in place to deal with all the other needs the Senator raised outside of the traditional DEIS model. There are resources that could be applied in that regard. I will certainly relay to the Minister that the Senator is concerned and the fact that, in light of the Senator’s data, she is scratching her head as to why the school was not included under the process. The Department spent many years developing that new model and I was a Minister of State at the Department during its early stages. A great deal of work was put into it and it should capture all schools that deserve DEIS status. In any event, I will bring the Senator's concerns to the Minister, who could not attend this debate.