Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 October 2025
71. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide a timeline for the rollout of DEIS Plus resources; if she will consider making funding and staffing available to schools before the end of the 2025-2026 academic year to allow for adequate planning, recruitment, and implementation of supports in advance of the September 2026 start date. [57685/25]
View answerTackling educational disadvantage and helping students realise their full potential is a key priority for the 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 plan and introduce the DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence in 2026.
To 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 intergenerational disadvantage.
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 small 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 plan.
