Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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164. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if additional funding can be made available to July provision for second-level schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26726/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Details of the 2024 Summer Programme were published on the 21st March 2024. Funding of €40m is available and, as in previous years, all of the funding is utilised to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children.

All schools, including post primary schools, have an opportunity to run a programme over the summer months for those children who need it the most. These children can continue to be supported, nurtured and encouraged to engage in a fun and inclusive educational setting.

The main priority again in 2024 is that those children with the most complex special educational needs, especially in special schools, should have access to a school-based summer programme.

All the supports and incentives introduced, both in 2024 and in previous years, have been developed and designed to increase participation by allowing all schools, including those in post primary, to provide the Summer Programme. These measures are aimed at maximising the number of children who can participate in a school-based programme with a specific focus on ensuring children with the most complex needs receive the targeted support.

More than 1,700 individual expressions of interest have been received from schools seeking to run this year’s Summer Programme – representing the highest-ever uptake of the Summer Programme. Over 1,400 schools participated in the programme in 2023. There are more post primary schools running a programme this year than ever before and we will continue to keep the funding under review to ensure the greatest possible level of participation.

Of the schools registered for the 2024 Summer Programme to date, there are:

• 1,475 primary schools – up 19 per cent on 2023
• 205 post-primary schools – up 28 per cent on 2023
• 72 special schools – up 22 per cent on 2023 and 85 per cent on 2022.

The increase in registrations continues the positive upward trend in participation seen in the summer programmes over the last number of years. Over 50,000 children took part in the summer programme last year, compared to 13,000 in 2019.