Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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94. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of increasing the ancillary grant by 5% up to a maximum of 20% for primary and secondary schools respectively. [39862/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Ancillary Services Grant is payable to recognised primary schools and special schools in the Free Education Scheme. The grant is intended to cater for the cost of employing Secretarial and Caretaking staff. It is up to the Board of Management to allocate this funding as per their priorities. As per Circular 0040/2009 the capitation grant provided for general running costs and the ancillary services grant provided for Secretarial and Caretaking services may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities.

After Fórsa accepted the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement about salaries and leave for grant-funded school secretaries, the secretaries who accepted the agreement were added to the Department of Education’s payroll from September 2023. Because of this, the ancillary-related grant funding has been updated, since schools are no longer paying these salaries directly.

Since the 2023/24 school year, schools have been paid the usual ancillary grant amount, minus the amount that schools previously paid to grant-funded secretaries prior to their acceptance of the new terms and conditions. Schools provided the Department with these details and this information is now being used to reduce the ancillary-related grant funding. Schools should be in no way disadvantaged by this, as the grant is reduced only by the amount they previously paid to their secretaries.

To date we have issued correspondence to schools with details of the arrangements for: September to December 2023, January to August 2024, September to December 2024 and January to August 2025.

In some situations, the salaries of ancillary staff in a particular school may have been higher than the ancillary grant due to the school, and the school may have funded this difference via other revenue streams. In situations where the salary that a school was paying their secretary was higher than the ancillary grant due to the school, prior to them being added to the Department of Education’s payroll, then the ancillary grant is reduced to nil. This should not impact the school’s financial position.

The rate of ancillary services grant has not decreased and continues to be paid based on the relevant enrolments in the school multiplied by the rates set out in Circular 0017/2021.

Work is ongoing to identify a method of standardising the reduction to the ancillary-related grants for the longer term where school secretaries are being paid on the Department’s payroll. The current reductions may vary when a permanent model for ancillary-related grant reductions has been finalised.

The Department is currently working on developing a formal model for the allocation of secretary posts other than Department-sanctioned secretaries in Community and Comprehensive schools and those employed under the 1978/1979 scheme, informed by data analysis, with a view to standardising grant payments and allocations of posts in a fair and equitable manner. Analysis of data to inform proposals on modifications to grant payments and allocation of posts across the school system as a result of school secretaries moving on to the Department’s payroll is nearing completion. It is intended that these arrangements will be as reasonable and as fair as possible for all schools. The Department will consult with education partners as part of this process.

Schools seeking additional secretarial resources or who wish to employ a secretary for the first time are in the interim considered on a cases-by-case basis.

The Department is providing a payroll service for school secretaries with effect from 1st September 2023. As of June 2025, there are 3,223 secretaries on payroll that benefited from the WRC agreement.

As part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries and caretakers, following a series of engagements at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in 2022, the implementation of revised salary and annual leave entitlements for school secretaries, under circular 0036/2022 is now fully operational.

Lessons learned from that process are now playing a key role in the drafting and implementation of a similar deal to be offered to grant funded school caretakers.

The Department is committed to ensuring that school caretakers will be afforded the opportunity to avail of a similar package to that which was accepted by school secretaries in the near future. As the deal to be offered to caretakers, when agreed, will be similar to that implemented for school secretaries, it is not currently anticipated that the granting of public servant status, and the entitlements which arise therefrom, will form part of the proposal.

The Department of Education is not the direct employer of former grant funded school secretaries, but rather has been providing a payroll service for this cohort of secretaries with effect from 1st September 2023.

In the normal course, there are ongoing discussions with the public service unions on any and all matters relating to pay agreements. Any review of changes to the employment of school caretakers or other pay mechanisms, can occur only under those processes and any such proposals would need to be considered in detail by the Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the relevant unions.

The practice of paying for caretaking services under grant schemes continues whilst work is ongoing to agree a similar package to that achieved for school secretaries.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the first- and full-year of implementing the DEIS Plus programme to all secondary schools. [39863/25]

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.

The details of the DEIS plus scheme are currently in development. 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.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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96. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the first- and full-year cost of increasing funding for Traveller supports by 10% up to a maximum of 50% in primary and secondary school respectively. [39864/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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97. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the first- and full-year cost of increasing funding for Roma and refugee supports by 10% up to a maximum of 50% in primary and secondary schools respectively. [39865/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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119. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the first- and full-year cost of increasing funding and capitation funding for Traveller supports by 10% up to a maximum of 50% in primary and secondary school respectively. [40030/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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120. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the first- and full-year cost of increasing funding and capitation funding for Roma and refugee supports by 10% up to a maximum of 50% in primary and secondary schools respectively. [40031/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 96, 97, 119 and 120 together.

I propose to take PQs 40030/25, 40031/25, 39864/25 and 39865/25 and answer as one.

My department is committed to supporting the participation, inclusion, and progression of all students in the education system.

From September 2025, the capitation rate for Traveller supports will be €92 per pupil at primary level and €239 per student at post-primary level. Based on the most recent enrolment data 8,741 Traveller pupils in primary schools and 3,205 in post-primary schools the estimated full-year cost of increasing this funding by 10% would be approximately €80,400 at primary level and €76,200 at post-primary level, giving a combined total of around €156,600. The estimated full-year cost of a 50% increase would be approximately €402,100 at primary level and €380,900 at post-primary level, totalling approximately €783,000.

Special education teachers provide additional teaching to children attending mainstream classes with special educational needs using a wide variety of teaching approaches. The Special Education Teaching (SET) Allocation Model is a standardised allocation model that provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the teaching needs of students in mainstream classes. When the model was introduced, it replaced a diagnosis led model with one based on need. This ensures the allocation supports all children that require a level of additional teaching support as identified through the Continuum of Support framework. The allocations of special education teaching posts for the next school year were published on 11 February and all schools received an email notification from the NCSE of their allocation. For the 2025/26 school year close to 15,000 special education teachers have been allocated to schools to support these children and young people.? In addition, a scheme is in place where schools are provided with additional temporary SET and SNA resources on a graduated scale where they have enrolled a large number of Ukrainian or International Protection Students. Details of the scheme is available at supports-for-children-from-ukraine-with-special-educational-needs.pdf

2024 total D/Education expenditure associated with the Ukraine response was €164m. This expenditure includes the cost of hiring additional teachers, SNA’s and support staff, along with support structures required to meet the growing number of additional students within the education system, for example additional school transport services, increases capitation funding to schools and additional temporary school accommodation.

At the end of Dec 2024 over 17,300 Ukraine pupils were enrolled in primary and post primary schools with over 10,400 in Primary and over 6,900 in post primary. A projected increase of 10% would be €180.4m and 50% is €246m.

In July 2024, the Department published the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy (TRES) 2024–2030, along with its Implementation and Action Plan 2024–2026. TRES outlines a broad cross-sectoral approach to improving outcomes for Traveller and Roma learners. Direct funding under TRES currently includes:

• Circa €1.5 million was secured in 2024 to establish 15 Community Link Worker roles, to in 2025, focused on schools with high Traveller and Roma enrolments. These peer-led roles aim to strengthen engagement between schools, families, and communities, and will be evaluated over their initial 18-month term.
• Two national TRES coordinators have been appointed to support implementation of the strategy, with a combined annual cost of approximately €157,000.
• Under the Creative Youth Programme, two initiatives—Creative Clusters and BLAST (Bringing Live Arts to Students and Teachers)—were launched with a specific Traveller and Roma focus. Funding for these initiatives amounts to circa €250,000.
• An independent evaluation of the STAR-based Creative Youth initiatives is currently underway with an allocated cost of €45,000.
• Funding of €100,000 has also been secured for transition supports in 2025. These initiatives aim to ease the progression from primary to post-primary education for Traveller and Roma children, a point at which dropout risk is heightened.
• 10 HSCL posts in 14 non-DEIS post-primary schools with high levels of Traveller and Roma students at an annual cost of €700,000.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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98. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated first- and full-year cost of increasing an increase of 2% up to a maximum of 20% for early intervention network. [39866/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has advised that just over 400 new special classes have been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. This includes a number of new Early Intervention classes bringing the total number of these classes to 160 for the 2025/26 school year.

A number of new funding initiatives have been provided to schools this year when establishing a new special class. The level of funding is dependent on the required works to the school in order to accommodate the new class.

At a minimum €30,000 will be paid to each school that is approved by the NCSE to open a new special class. This grant does not require an application from the relevant schools - it is paid based on notification from the NCSE on schools that are opening new special classes for the 2025/26 school year.

Schools requiring small-scale re-purposing works also have a new simplified application process. The level of funding involved will depend on the nature of small-scale works to be undertaken and will be up to a maximum of €70,000 for each new special class being opened for the 2025/26 school year.

A minority of schools may require more significant works. On receipt of such applications, a more detailed technical assessment will be undertaken to validate the scope of necessary works. It is envisaged that this will also determine the initial phase of works needed to facilitate the opening of the special class for the 2025/26 school year.