Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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147. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if DEIS status will be given to a school (details supplied); if funding for food for pupils will be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5186/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing these universal supports, the DEIS programme addresses concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.

Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools. 

The DEIS identification process is based on the principle of concentrated disadvantage and the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds within a school. The DEIS identification model aimed to identify those schools with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage or the highest proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds within a school using the school's enrolment data and national census data as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation index which is publicly available. A detailed paper on the refined DEIS identification model is available on gov.ie

Enabling children with special educational needs (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government. Special schools receive significant funding and have been resourced to reflect their particular needs. For 2023, the special education budget has been substantially increased by over 10%, meaning that my Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.  This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department of Education’s total allocation.

As a result, the number of special education teachers, special needs assistants and special class and special school places are at unprecedented levels. For the first time ever, we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 Special Needs Assistants. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

Staffing ratios in special schools are significantly lower than in mainstream schools and are intended to ensure that the needs of students can be met effectively. These lower ratios generally facilitate greater connection between the schools and families. My Department will continue to engage with special schools, including through representative bodies such as NABMSE, to identify further improvements needed to support their role.

I recognise that there are children at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools. It important to note that the extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one phase of work in my vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. The next phase of work will explore the allocation of resources to schools to tackle educational disadvantage. Part of this programme of work will involve consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

The School Meals Programme, which is under the remit of the Department of Social Protection, provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 children. The Department of Social Protection currently offer priority for funding under the school meals programme to DEIS schools.