Written answers
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Department of Education and Skills
Early School Leavers
Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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1009. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students per year dropping out from post-primary education over the past decade, including demographic factors such as age, gender, and socio-economic background, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40950/25]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Each year, my Department monitors new entry cohorts and their progression through the education system for the purposes of reporting on the retention rate. The data the deputy requested are produced annually by my Department and are available here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/retention/. The data requested by the deputy is provided in the accompanying table.
It should be noted that these reports deal with retention within the state-aided schooling system only. It does not take account of important educational pathways outside this system such as Youthreach and apprenticeship training. In effect, pupils leaving school to undertake these programmes are treated as “early school leavers” for the purposes of this analysis. The ‘true’ retention rate, comparable to completion of upper second-level education (equivalent to NFQ levels 4,5 and 6 Advanced), is higher than that shown in the accompanying table, when participation in apprenticeship, out-of-school programmes and other training within the first year of leaving school is considered.
| Year of entry | Year of completion | Entry Cohort | of which female | of which male | Completion rate | Early School leavers | Early Leavers (Female) | Early leavers (Males) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2013 | 56,075 | 27,335 | 28,740 | 90.6% | 5,293 | 2,206 | 3,087 |
| 2009 | 2014 | 58,088 | 28,454 | 29,634 | 90.2% | 5,702 | 2,342 | 3,360 |
| 2010 | 2015 | 59,221 | 29,029 | 30,192 | 91.2% | 5,208 | 2,110 | 3,098 |
| 2011 | 2016 | 59,641 | 28,931 | 30,710 | 91.6% | 5,006 | 1,996 | 3,010 |
| 2012 | 2017 | 58,859 | 28,874 | 29,985 | 91.5% | 5,021 | 1,992 | 3,028 |
| 2013 | 2018 | 59,524 | 29,327 | 30,197 | 91.1% | 5,282 | 2,112 | 3,171 |
| 2014 | 2019 | 61,161 | 30,105 | 31,056 | 91.5% | 5,188 | 1,927 | 3,261 |
| 2015 | 2020 | 62,248 | 30,608 | 31,640 | 92.1% | 4,903 | 1,898 | 3,006 |
| 2016 | 2021 | 63,910 | 31,365 | 32,545 | 91.7% | 5,323 | 2,101 | 3,222 |
| 2017 | 2022 | 63,910 | 31,237 | 32,673 | 90.0% | 6,414 | 2,624 | 3,790 |
In addition to the universal supports available to all schools, such as guidance and wellbeing supports, targeted supports such as the School Completion Programme which covers 783 schools with a total population of over 250,000 students, and the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy, are a key part of the response to support those children and young people most at risk of early school leaving.
These programmes work in tandem with other supports including HSCL co-ordinators and the Education Welfare Service under my department’s Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme.
My department, in conjunction with Tusla Education Support Service, TESS, is also undertaking a five-year plan to improve school attendance. The plan focuses on policy, practice, the implementation of “ ANSEO”, a new evidence-based framework to help schools analyse and respond to attendance data, and the expansion of TESS services to schools and families, to ensure appropriate supports are in place to support children and young people in school.
Tackling school absence and ensuring students can complete will be a key part of my plan to ensure that every child can achieve their full potential. Regular attendance in school is essential not just for academic achievement, but for wellbeing, social development and long-term life outcomes.
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