Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when additional primary and second level schools will be included in the DEIS programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31250/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to achieve their full potential in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth, and for the Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. It provides a targeted range of supports and is additional to the universal supports provided to all schools, such as the introduction of free schoolbooks and free hot school meals. My department invests over €180 million annually to provide additional supports to almost 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme which supports approximately 260,000 students.

As Minister, I am determined to close the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introduce more innovative solutions to tackle disadvantage. That is why I am committed to publishing a new DEIS Plan in 2025. This plan will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage and developing more innovative approaches to tackling educational disadvantage. Building on the expansion of the DEIS programme in 2022, the new DEIS plan will work towards a more flexible system of supports to ensure that a school can receive the right support at the right time.

My department is intensifying its engagement with other government departments and agencies, the education partners, and stakeholders across the education sector to develop a plan that will provide maximum possible impact for students most at risk of educational disadvantage through ensuring that resources reach students that have the greatest level of need. Any future expansion of the programme, and overall allocation of resources to schools to tackle educational disadvantage, will be considered within the context of the DEIS plan and availability of resources.