Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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286. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application (details supplied) to be included in the DEIS Plus scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68691/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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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 early in 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.

Schools will not be required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme. The process to identify schools for inclusion 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. Future allocation of overall resources will be considered within the context of the new DEIS Strategy and the availability of resources.