Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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141. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her progress to date in the implementation of the DEIS plus scheme as committed to in the Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16853/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil their full potential in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth. The DEIS programme is a key policy of government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level.

My department is investing over €180 million annually to provide additional supports to almost 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme. This is additional to the universal measures including the free schoolbooks scheme that support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools.

As Minister, I am determined to close the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introduce more innovative solutions to tackle educational disadvantage. Part of delivering this objective will be the introduction of a new DEIS Plus scheme to support schools with the highest levels of disadvantage.

To inform the development of the DEIS Plus scheme, I have established a design advisory group with principals, Home School Community Liaison and School Completion Programme coordinators who work every day with children from areas of high inter-generational disadvantage. This group, which I met in March, led by officials from my Department are using a student-centred design approach to identify the resources needed to ensure the DEIS plus scheme will meet the needs of children and young people at acute risk of educational disadvantage.

My department is also intensifying its engagement with other government departments and agencies, the education partners, and stakeholders across the education sector to develop the DEIS Plus scheme.

I am committed to delivering a new DEIS Plan this year to outline my department’s overall approach to tackle educational disadvantage, and the DEIS Plus scheme will be an important part of that plan.