Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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512. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current process where schools can apply for new or upgraded DEIS status; if this is carried out on an annual or intermittent basis; the deadline for application if it is time-based; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39624/25]

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, and for the Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level.

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. Schools in the programme are provided with a targeted range of supports that are additional to the universal supports provided to all schools, such as the introduction of free school books, support from the National Educational Psychological Service, access to English as an additional language and Special Educational Needs teachers, and free hot school meals.

The DEIS programme is targeted at schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. Schools that were included in the most recent expansion of the programme in 2022 were those with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage as identified through the refined DEIS identification model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model was applied fairly and equally to all schools. A detailed paper on the refined DEIS identification model is available on gov.ie.

The DEIS programme is based on the premise that in order to have the maximum possible impact on providing opportunities for students most at risk of educational disadvantage, extra resources must be targeted as closely as possible at those students with the greatest level of need.

As Minister, I am determined to close the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introduce more innovative solutions to tackle disadvantage. A new DEIS Plan will be published in 2025. This plan will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage, developing more innovative approaches to tackling educational disadvantage, and working towards a more flexible system of supports to ensure that a school can receive the right support at the right time. Any plans on the future of the DEIS programme or extension of supports to tackle educational disadvantage will be considered in the context of the new DEIS plan.