Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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363. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the conditions or guidelines attached to the £20 million allocated to the Department of Education in the north of Ireland by the Shared Island Unit for the RAISE Programme. [13609/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As part of the Government’s wider, long-standing cooperation with the Northern Ireland Executive on educational attainment issues, the Government in February 2024 allocated up to €24 million from the Shared Island Fund to enable a pilot cooperation programme to address educational underachievement.

My Department and the Department of Education in Northern Ireland have developed and are now progressing this programme of cooperation which comprises strands on: addressing educational under-attainment in Northern Ireland (RAISE); an online teachers’ research exchange (T-REX) to support professional exchange and development across the island; and, a creativity in schools programme (Creative Connections).

The RAISE programme concerns education and support services in Northern Ireland which are a responsibility of and delivered by the Northern Ireland Department of Education. My Department is leading on coordinating implementation of the T-REX and Creative Connections strands with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland and my Department to deliver this pilot programme of cooperation on addressing educational disadvantage.

The Memorandum of Understanding sets out the framework for monitoring and reporting for the oversight and management of these projects, including RAISE, which is to be overseen by an Addressing Disadvantage Learning and Research Board with members drawn from both Departments of Education.

The Addressing Disadvantage Learning and Research Board receives updates on the delivery of RAISE and related areas of mutual learning.

As set out in the MoU, the Department of Education in Northern Ireland is responsible for implementation of the RAISE programme in Northern Ireland and that Department will provide information to the Addressing Disadvantage Learning and Research Board sufficient to allow for monitoring and oversight of the overall resourcing allocated for the RAISE programme through this cooperation.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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364. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that, due to the design of the RAISE Programme, some of the most deprived areas in the north of Ireland will be excluded. [13610/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The RAISE Programme in Northern Ireland is an initiative of the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It is designed to support the implementation of the findings and recommendations on educational disadvantage contained in the “A Fair Start” report, prepared by an Expert Panel in Northern Ireland and endorsed by the Northern Ireland Executive in 2021.

It is a pilot programme designed to start the rollout of some measures to take a locality-based approach focused on communities and schools in areas of educational disadvantage in NI.

The design and implementation of education policies and programmes in NI are a matter for the Department of Education in Northern Ireland.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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365. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the input the Shared Island Unit has in developing and assessing the formula used to determine which areas qualify for inclusion in the RAISE Programme. [13611/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The RAISE Programme in Northern Ireland is an initiative of the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It is designed to support the implementation of the findings and recommendations on educational disadvantage contained in the “A Fair Start” report, prepared by an Expert Panel in Northern Ireland and endorsed by the Northern Ireland Executive in 2021.

It is a pilot programme designed to start the rollout of some measures to take a locality-based approach focused on communities and schools in areas of educational disadvantage in NI.

The design and implementation of education policies and programmes in NI are a matter for the Department of Education in Northern Ireland.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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366. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures the Shared Island Unit will take to monitor the impact of the RAISE Programme. [13612/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland and my Department to deliver this pilot programme of cooperation on addressing educational disadvantage.

The Memorandum of Understanding sets out the framework for monitoring and reporting for the oversight and management of these projects, including RAISE, which is to be overseen by an Addressing Disadvantage Learning and Research Board with members drawn from both Departments of Education.

The Addressing Disadvantage Learning and Research Board receives updates on the delivery of RAISE and related areas of mutual learning.