Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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524. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when DEIS Plus resources will be allocated directly to schools; if she will commit to ensure these funds are made available as soon as possible in order for schools to plan, allocate resources and ensure new staff are in place for the new school year in September 2026; when DEIS Plus is proposed to begin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61599/25]

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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539. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure that DEIS Plus funding and resources are made available to schools before the end of the 2025-2026 school year, to allow schools sufficient time to plan, recruit staff, and prepare supports ahead of the September 2026 roll out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61787/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 524 and 539 together.

Tackling educational disadvantage and helping students reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth. 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.

A new DEIS Strategy will be published before the end of the year, and it will include the DEIS Plus scheme. Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16 million, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of the new DEIS Strategy and to introduce 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.

The details of the DEIS Plus scheme, including funding allocation, are currently being finalised and will be outlined in the new DEIS Strategy.