William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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871. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the scale of school absenteeism since the COVID-19 pandemic, by DEIS and non-DEIS schools; the specific actions in place to reduce absenteeism, especially among children under six; when the promised new DEIS+ scheme will be published and implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59799/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is under the remit of my department.

TESS operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. In line with the Act, all recognised schools must report annually to TESS on student non-attendance. This data is collected from schools using the Tusla Portal. The data is then used to generate two reports - the Annual Attendance Report (AAR) and the Student Absence Reports (SAR), The latest report for the 2023/24 school year was published in September and all the reports are available on Tusla’s website at the following link: .

Last May I announced a range of measures to tackle school absenteeism. These measures are a key part of my plan to ensure that every child can achieve their full potential, regardless of their background or their ability. Regular attendance in school is essential, not just for academic achievement, but for wellbeing, social development and long-term life outcomes.

One of the initiatives I announced earlier this year is Anseo. a Multi-Dimensional Multi-Tiered System of Support approach to addressing school attendance. Anseo is an evidenced-based model that enables schools to analyse their data in a tiered and systematic way. This allows schools to shape their response to their school attendance issues. Sixty schools have been selected to take part in Anseo from the start of this school year. Anseo will be offered to additional schools in early 2026. TESS staff work with the schools throughout the 2025/26 school year, promoting and supporting the implementation of the model.

I am also bringing forward legislation that will amend the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, to bring all children under the age of 6, who are registered in recognised primary schools, within the scope of the Act.

Currently, the DEIS programme supports almost 1,200 schools, with an annual investment of over €180 million. In Budget 2026, I secured an additional €16 million in 2026, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of a new DEIS strategy and the introduction of the DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence in 2026.

The DEIS Plus scheme will provide additional support to schools with the highest levels of need, in line with the Government’s commitment. It will target a cohort of schools with high concentrations of children and young people experiencing intergenerational disadvantage where there is a significant gap in outcomes and there are barriers to those children and young people achieving their potential.

Schools will not be required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme. The process will be evidence-informed, using available data. The details of the DEIS Plus scheme are currently being finalised within an overall programme of work to tackle educational disadvantage and will be outlined in the new DEIS strategy.