Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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114. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 680 of 17 January 2024, when the next round of applications will open; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3166/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that it is not possible to commit to a date or a new round of funding at this time. As the Deputy will be aware, any future funding is contingent on the budgetary resources available to the Department and the priorities and demands relating to the budget.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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115. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 680 of 17 January 2024, the reason all applicants were given equal weighting in the lottery, regardless of DEIS status or not. [3167/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that as set out in Parliamentary Question No. 680 of 17 January 2024 a lottery was run but then the application from each school selected in the lottery was assessed on a case by case basis. The applications were read again by the evaluation team, to ensure they met the requirements as set out in the grant call. School status was one of the considerations taken into account but was not the only factor as set out in the call for proposals.

During my time as Minister for Education I have shown a strong commitment to addressing educational disadvantage. My Department’s Statement of Strategy, sets out the vision and mission of the Department for an educational system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. A key strategic goal of my Department is to develop an education system that welcomes every child and young person and meets their educational needs irrespective of background or ability so as to fulfil their potential. The successful delivery of this goal means that our school system is open and welcoming for all children and young people and that in particular learners at risk of educational disadvantage will be supported to achieve their full potential. Since June 2020, and over that past four Budget’s I have secured funding to support measures aimed at achieving that goal.

Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector. The DEIS programme now includes in the region of 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. 1 in 4 students and 30% of schools are now supported in the programme. My Department’s overall spend on the DEIS programme is over €180 million yearly. DEIS schools are eligible for a range of additional resources and supports aimed at tackling educational disadvantage, including additional classroom teaching posts in DEIS Band 1 primary schools, access to Home School Community Liaison Coordinator for DEIS urban primary and DEIS post-primary schools, DEIS grant funding and access to the School Completion Programme. The full list of resources and supports for DEIS schools is available at gov.ie - DEIS Delivering Equality of Opportunity In Schools (www.gov.ie)