Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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264. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the criteria used for allocation of teaching posts in DEIS schools (details supplied) will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9159/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s overall annual spend on the DEIS Programme is approximately €125 million. Additional funding is provided by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for the School Meals Programme and by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for the School Completion Programme.  As the Deputy may be aware, work by my Department on a refined DEIS ID model is at an advanced stage. It is envisaged that this model will then provide the basis for development of a DEIS resource allocation system to match resources to identified need.

A list of the various supports and resources available to DEIS schools is available on my Department's website at the following link ;

The Centre for School Leadership, established in 2015, is charged with the development of a coherent continuum of professional development supports for school leaders. The Centre gives priority to leaders from DEIS schools who apply for the various programmes offered by the Centre including the Excellence through Collaborative Leadership and Management Clustering Initiative and the Principal Coaching Service.

The extension of an additional deputy principal in large DEIS schools will be considered as part of my Department's overall Budget process.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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265. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to provide additional funding for book rental schemes in post-primary DEIS schools. [9160/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a book grant to all recognised primary and post primary schools within the Free Education Scheme in order to provide assistance for books including Book Rental Schemes.  Post primary schools receive €24 per pupil for mainstream schools while DEIS schools receive an enhanced rate of €39 per pupil.  Under this scheme, the Department provided funding of €16.9 million in 2019 to all of these schools.

I also announced additional funding of €1million which is being allocated to 102 Primary DEIS schools for a new pilot programme for the 2020/21 school year.  The aim of this pilot is to provide free school books for students in the schools involved, and to support these schools in eliminating the cost of school books for parents. It will run for the period of one year and its effectiveness and impact will be monitored and evaluated before any decision is made as regards its possible extension or continuation.

Under Circular 46/2013, DEIS primary schools receive a book grant of €21 per student.  This pilot will provide an additional €64 per student to increase the overall book grant rate to €85 per student enrolled in the school.  This additional funding issued to schools in May 2020.  

School book rental schemes have an important role to play in reducing the cost of school books for parents.  The most recent figures available indicate that 68% of post-primary schools operate a book rental scheme 

It is a matter for the Board of Management of each individual school to decide on its own policy in relation to the use of book grant funding in the school but they are expected to adopt a cost-conscious approach to the selection of books for use in their classes. The current arrangement relies on the local knowledge of the school in order to ensure a fair allocation of funds to those most in need. 

The arrangements in relation to the book grant scheme are set out in Circular 0046/2013 which is published on the Department's website at