Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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317. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 689 of 11 September 2023, if she will request a review of the current HSCL allocation to a school (details supplied), as the current allocation does not reflect the DEIS status of the school; if her Department can engage with the school management directly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40063/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most. To support this work my Department have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS. The OECD are engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. The OECD estimates that the review will be completed in Q2 2024.

The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches. This work will also involve consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. It will seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential. There will be no review to existing Home School Community Liaison allocations ahead of these reviews being completed.

In tandem with these reviews and following on from the Census of Population held in April 2022, it is envisaged that an updated HP Deprivation Index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in Q4 of 2023. My Department will engage with Pobal in relation to this process. The updated HP Deprivation Index, when available, will also be considered by my Department to help inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage.