James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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327. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department's plans to update the DEIS plus plan before the end of 2025; the timeline for the publication of this document; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50317/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tackling education disadvantage and helping students reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth, and for the Government. Currently, the DEIS programme supports almost 1,200 primary and post-primary schools, reaching approximately 260,000 students, with an annual investment of over €180 million.

As Minister, I am committed to narrowing the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introducing innovative solutions to address disadvantage. A new DEIS Plan will be published this year, which will include a DEIS Plus scheme. This new scheme will provide additional support to schools with the highest levels of need, in line with the Government’s commitment. To inform the development of the DEIS Plus scheme, a Design Advisory group has been established. It includes school principals, Home School Community Liaison officers, and School Completion Programme coordinators, professionals who work directly with children experiencing high intergenerational disadvantage. Their insights will help shape a proposal for a DEIS Plus scheme that will support schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. Details of the DEIS Plus scheme are currently being developed in collaboration with the advisory group and will be announced later this year.