Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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247. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on a scheme and whether a school will be included (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23125/26]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I was pleased to launch the DEIS Strategy to 2035, including the DEIS Plus scheme yesterday. This achieves the Programme for Government commitment to introduce a scheme of additional support for schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

I am glad to advise that the school (details supplied) has been selected for participation in the DEIS Plus scheme and has been informed directly by my department.

The DEIS Plus scheme recognises that while potential and talent is present in all children, they do not all have an equal opportunity to develop and fulfil their potential. The scheme aims to empower children and young people impacted by intergenerational poverty and disadvantage to succeed in school and progress to fulfilling adult lives, creating positive impacts for future generations. It seeks to support children, families and schools to improve school attendance, promote participation in learning and social interaction, and support children and young people to complete post-primary education and achieve the Leaving Certificate.

The DEIS Plus scheme will provide a more targeted, coordinated and evidence-informed set of supports for 96 primary and 25 post-primary schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

Through the scheme my department is investing in the futures of the children and young people in these schools. This will include an additional 33 school leadership posts, 121 teacher posts, additional home-school-community liaison posts and guidance hours, including guidance in primary schools for the first time. It will also provide a €3m increase in DEIS grant funding and additional funding for youth services, breakfast clubs and opportunities for innovation.

The scheme will also maximise opportunities to establish links between government departments, agencies and industry and to better align the available range of cross-government supports with the needs identified in schools in the DEIS Plus scheme.

The DEIS Plus scheme is part of a €48million increase in supports under the overall DEIS programme, increasing annual DEIS budget to €228 million. This increase includes additionality for schools beyond the DEIS Plus scheme. Over 700 schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS, will gain resources aimed at a targeted response to addressing educational disadvantage in all schools under initial actions from the DEIS Strategy to 2035.

Schools included in the DEIS Plus scheme have been identified using an approach which is objective and data based. The methodology was developed by the DEIS Technical Group, which includes members from Pobal and the Education Research Centre, and members from the department’s Statistics Unit, IGEES team, Inspectorate and Social Inclusion Unit.