Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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314. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a timetable for rolling out DEIS+ in Dublin south central, including confirmation of funding allocations and implementation dates, in tabular form. [40307/25]

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.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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315. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of additional resource teaching posts allocated to DEIS schools in Dublin south central for the upcoming academic year, broken down by school, in tabular form. [40308/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is a priority for this government.?It is also a key priority for me, my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special class and special school places are provided. 

This is in keeping with policy on an inclusive education, which promotes that children will be supported to receive an education in the most inclusive setting possible. 

By the end of the year there will be close to 21,000 special educational teachers (SET) and over 23,000 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This will mean we will have over 44,000 teachers and SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential. 

Allocations of SET posts for the next school year have recently been provided to schools.

The NCSE publishes the special education resource allocations for each county on an annual basis and they are presently compiling the data for the 2025/26 school year and this will be published shortly on the NCSE website.

In the case of County Dublin the NCSE data will be available at Dublin area code levels when published by the NCSE. 

My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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316. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures in place to eliminate voluntary parent contributions in all schools and ensure full equitable funding. [40309/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Voluntary contributions can be requested by schools; however it must be made absolutely clear to parents that there is no requirement to pay, and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own choice, and there is no compulsion to pay.

The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools, and the Programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs.

The commitment in the Programme for Government builds on the progress which has been made in recent years, including an over €30 million permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day-to-day running costs through Budget 2025. This represents an increase of circa 12% on current standard rates and enhanced rates. This will result in the standard rates increasing from €200 to €224 for primary schools and increase from €345 to €386 per student in post-primary schools from September 2025. Over the last two Budgets there has been a circa 22% increase in the level of capitation grant rates paid to schools.

The Department of Education is aware that costs and funding can pose a problem for schools, and is constantly working to address this matter, and to enhance the financial and other supports available to schools. While not wishing to pre-empt the outcomes of any future Budget negotiations or fiscal parameters agreed by Government, the Department of Education will continue to seek and prioritise the funding required to meet the ongoing costs of running schools.

Back-to-school costs can be a burden for families. Removing the cost of schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks for pupils and students up to Junior Cycle has been shown to be a huge step in addressing the cost of sending children to school. Further funding of €51 million was allocated in Budget 2025 to extend the free schoolbooks scheme to students in transition and senior cycle years, meaning the scheme will now support 940,000 pupils and students in primary, special and post-primary schools in the free education scheme.

An additional €58 million in funding for the School Transport Scheme is being allocated to school transport services to allow for continued reduced transport fees, while exemptions from exam fees for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate students are also being kept in place for families next year. These measures will continue to reduce the cost of sending children to schools.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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317. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funding is being ring-fenced for school-based mental health provision in schools in Dublin south central, broken down by school, in tabular form. [40311/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Promoting positive mental health is a priority for the Department of Education and Youth and myself as Minister.  

The Department’s approach in the Well-being Policy is founded on research and best international practice in relation to how schools can best support the well-being and mental health of children and young people.  The approach proposed is a whole school and preventative approach which has multiple components that include:

• Providing children and young people with opportunities to build core social and emotional skills and competencies
• Providing children and young people with opportunities to experience supportive relationships within the school setting and to learn through those relationships
• Providing children and young people with opportunities to be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe, an environment in which children and young people feel a sense of belonging and connectedness, in which they feel their voice is heard, and they feel supported.
• Schools are encouraged to use a reflective, school self-evaluation approach to identify and prioritise the needs of its own school community in relation to the promotion of well-being and mental health, and to respond to meeting those needs.

My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary and special schools.

The NEPS service provides access for all schools to:

• Psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident
• A Casework Service for individual children where there is a need for intensive consultation and assessment via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA).
• A school staff Support and Development Service, to build school capability to provide a comprehensive continuum of support in schools and
• Ongoing access to advice and support for schools.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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318. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is an emergency energy support fund for DEIS schools facing sharply increased utility costs and how schools can apply. [40316/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Schools in financial difficulty are encouraged to contact my Department for advice and support. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to schools, which may include an advance in capitation grant funding or other measures.

The Department is constantly engaging with a number of schools in this respect. Schools that have contacted the Department have been referred to the FSSU. Officials from the Department will make contact with the school. We encourage your school to engage with the FSSU, and your school’s Patron, in order to work to rectify the financial challenges at the school.

The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools, and the Programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs.

The commitment in the Programme for Government builds on the progress which has been made in recent years, including an over €30 million permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day-to-day running costs through Budget 2025. This represents an increase of circa 12% on current standard rates and enhanced rates. This will result in the standard rates increasing from €200 to €224 for primary schools and increase from €345 to €386 per student in post-primary schools from September 2025. Over the last two Budgets there has been a circa 22% increase in the level of capitation grant rates paid to schools.

The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities, except for the employment of relevant secretaries as per Circular 0036/2022.

The current standard rate of capitation grant is €200 per pupil in primary schools and €345 per student in post-primary schools. Primary schools with fewer than 60 pupils are paid the capitation and the ancillary grants on the basis of having 60 pupils.

In addition to these grants, €45 million in cost-of-living supports issued in November 2024 to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. This additional funding announced in Budget 2025 is designed to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs such as heating and electricity. This funding was paid at a rate of €36 per pupil in primary schools and €55 per student in post-primary schools. Enhanced rates were also paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils.

Schools should also ensure that they are availing of the available OGP procurement frameworks and getting best value for money for all school expenditure.

The Department of Education is aware that costs and funding can pose a problem for schools, and is constantly working to address this matter, and to enhance the financial and other supports available to schools. While not wishing to pre-empt the outcomes of any future Budget negotiations or fiscal parameters agreed by Government, the Department of Education will continue to seek and prioritise the funding required to meet the ongoing costs of running schools.

The Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU), funded by my Department, is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters, including budgeting and cashflow management. Any schools that are experiencing financial difficulty can contact the

FSSU for guidance and support . Contact details for FSSU can be found on .

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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319. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason there is no mention of the school completion programme in her most recent publication Education Indicators for Ireland, July 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40325/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I very much welcome the recent publication of the Education Indicators for Ireland 2024 report.  The report is the first of its kind to comprehensively cover education at all stages from early learning and care, through primary and post-primary education to further and higher education and lifelong learning. It gives a snapshot of the entire education system as it is now and shares valuable insights which will assist to inform on future education policy.

The report illustrates the great strides which have been made in education in recent years, while also highlighting the significance of areas where work is being prioritised to continue to improve the teaching and learning experience for our school communities.

There are many positive findings in the report and specifically highlighted is, while enrolments overall have risen, the gap in retention to Leaving Certificate between DEIS and non-DEIS schools has improved between 2019 and 2023.  The most recent data shows that retention rates in DEIS post-primary schools has improved from 83.8% (2019) to 90.0% (2023).

The School Completion Programme (SCP) is just one of the targeted supports that contributes greatly to improving retention rates, and is a key part of the response to support those children and young people most at risk of early school leaving. 

The programme works in tandem with the other 2 strands of Tusla Education Support Service (TESS);  Home school Community Liaison Scheme and the Education Welfare Service, under my departments Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme.  All of these supports share the same national outcomes, improved attendance, participation and retention.

I am committed to doing more to support our school communities and students to ensure that there is continued progress across the education sector. Since SCP transferred back to my department in 2021, the programme has been extended twice and now supports 783 schools, with its annual budget increased by €10 million over that period, to just under €37 million.

A programme of work to develop a new employment framework for SCP is also underway. This will see a more robust, and sustainable employment model that will support this programme, and its workforce, into the future.

My plans also include introducing a DEIS plus scheme, prioritising new initiatives and developing a new DEIS Action Plan in 2025.  This planned programme of work will include the greater integration of supports to address educational disadvantage, the future of the School Completion Programme, and the DEIS programme itself.

When I brought the Education Indicators for Ireland Report to Government I indicated that I would ensure that statistics in relation to absenteeism would be included in the next report and this would include a focus on the school competition programme.