Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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428. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the date for the publishing of the proposed new DEIS Plan; and when her Department intend to communicate with school principals at existing DEIS schools in County Louth regarding the proposed DEIS plus part of this plan. [65943/25]

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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431. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of additional people the proposed DEIS Plus plan will support in County Louth. [65946/25]

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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432. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which the funding announced in Budget 2026 for the introduction of the DEIS Plus scheme will be allocated to schools in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65947/25]

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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433. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans in place to ensure that proposed DEIS Plus funding and resources are made available to schools in County Louth before the end of the current academic school year allowing schools sufficient time to plan and prepare ahead of the proposed September 2026 rollout; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65948/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 428, 431, 432 and 433 together.

Tackling educational disadvantage and helping students reach their full potential is a key priority for me as the Minister for Education and Youth and for 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. Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16 million in 2026, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of the new DEIS Strategy and introduce the DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence in 2026.

A new DEIS Strategy, which will include a DEIS Plus scheme will be published in early 2026. This strategy will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage, developing more innovative approaches to tackling education disadvantage, and working towards a more flexible system of supports to ensure that a school can receive the right support at the right time.

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 process to identify schools for inclusion in DEIS Plus will be evidence-informed, using available data 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. Future allocation of overall resources will be considered within the context of the new DEIS Strategy and the availability of resources.

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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429. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the form of collaboration that took place with principals of existing DEIS schools in County Louth regarding the development of the proposed DEIS plus scheme. [65944/25]

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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430. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the form of engagement or collaboration that took place with home school community liaison workers, school completion programme workers, and children and young people from schools in County Louth in line with her stated intention to "form a student-centred design approach" for the proposed DEIS plus scheme. [65945/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 429 and 430 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. Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16 million in 2026, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of the new DEIS Strategy and introduce the DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence in 2026.

In 2024, the Social Inclusion Unit in my Department carried out consultation workshops, focus groups and other engagements with key education stakeholders. These enabled direct engagement between policymakers and education stakeholders and were an opportunity for stakeholders to contribute to the development of the new DEIS Strategy and DEIS Plus scheme. Principals of schools in the DEIS programme in County Louth were involved in these consultations.

The workshops gathered detailed insights from teachers, school leaders, students, young people and other education experts on how resources are being used in schools. These insights informed the development of the new DEIS Strategy and DEIS Plus scheme and helped translate the OECD’s review on resourcing in schools to tackle education disadvantage recommendations into practical actions that can improve support for schools and students.

To further inform the development of the DEIS Plus scheme, a design advisory group was established including school principals, Home School Community Liaison officers, and School Completion Programme coordinators - professionals who work directly with children experiencing high levels of disadvantage.

The DEIS Plus scheme will provide additional support to schools with the highest levels of need, in line with the Programme for Government commitment. It will target a cohort of schools with the highest 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 process to identify schools for inclusion in DEIS Plus 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, which I intend to publish in early 2026.

Future allocation of overall resources will be considered within the context of the new DEIS Strategy and the availability of resources.