Written Answers Nos. 289-299
290. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 285 of 19 March 2026, if her Department will be implementing guidance on a national scale for opt-out arrangements in admission policies in relation to religious instruction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31549/26]
View answerUnder the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools have admissions policies, which have been approved by the patron and published on the school's website. The act requires where schools provide religious instruction that they set out in their admission policies the school’s arrangements for students, where the parent or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, has requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school.
As set out in the Education Plan 2025, the Department is committed to developing best practice guidance for schools in relation to arrangements to facilitate parental requests for children to attend school without attending religious instruction.
A review of current practices in schools is being undertaken that will develop a best practice guide. This guidance is intended to improve transparency and consistency across schools and to make expectations clearer for all stakeholders. This guidance will be available to all schools. Work in this area is ongoing.
291. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide additional special education hours and resources for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31551/26]
View answerThis government is fully committed to supporting students with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.
The Special Education Teaching (SET) allocation model is a standardised allocation model that provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the teaching needs of students in mainstream classes.
The mainstream class teacher has primary responsibility for the progress and care of all children in their classrooms, including children with additional learning needs.
The SET allocation model is a distribution model to ensure that the children with the greatest level of need in mainstream can get access to additional teaching support. It provides a transparent means of allocating Special Education Teaching (SET) resources to best meet the needs of children and to ensure consistency and equity in the system.
The SET allocation model distributes the total available number of Special Education Teaching posts in line with each school’s profile of need.
The model makes an allocation based on a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers. It also uses school-level data from standardised tests (in the Primary school model) and Junior Cycle data (in the Post Primary model) to reflect levels of overall additional learning need in the schools. It also incorporates data on students who have been granted exemptions from tests as this indicates additional learning need is required by them. As all children and young people from disadvantaged areas may not attend a DEIS school, the model applies a small value to schools based on individual pupils Eircode and the HP deprivation index and this is to ensure that schools who are not in receipt of the additional DEIS resources are allocated resources to support their potential additional learning need.
This results in the key premise of supporting children and young people with the greatest level of additional learning need to receive the greatest level of support by ensuring that SET allocations are allocated to the right school at the right time.
Each school’s school educational needs profile is updated annually.
For the 2026/27 school year nationwide, over 78% of schools will have either increased their allocation of hours or retained their previous allocation of hours.
The 22% of schools who will see a reduced allocation is driven by demographic change and reducing enrolments. 83% of these schools will see reductions of under 5 hours with the remaining will see greater reduction due to significant reductions in enrolment.
Every school is different, and individual schools can experience unique circumstances that may be difficult to reflect in a standardised method. This is always a challenge when making allocations in respect of almost 4,000 schools. It is for this reason that the Department, working with the National Council of Special Education (NCSE) streamlined the review process for special education teachers and schools who have any concerns can engage with the NCSE on their allocation.
It is important to clarify that the NCSE has streamlined the review process for SET over the last number of years and all information requested by the NCSE should already be available in schools as the data required are key components of the individual student support file in the school. The review process for 2026/27 school year is available at: SET Allocation Reviews 2026 – National Council for Special Education – Working to deliver a better special education service
School Principals who may have questions or need assistance/clarification on the NCSE SET Allocation Review process (April – June) can email during this timeframe: setqueries@ncse.ie
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to achieve their full potential.
292. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a special education unit in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31557/26]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for students with special educational needs.
My department and the NCSE continue to work closely with school patron bodies, school management bodies and schools to confirm new special classes for the next school year 2026/2027. The NCSE began sanctioning new special classes in January of this year, which is several months earlier than last year. 464 new special classes have been sanctioned to date, of which 11 are inclusive special classes. Further details on additional new special classes will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
The earlier sanctioning of new classes provides clarity for parents and allows schools more time for the planning and establishment of new special classes. The vast majority of new special classes being announced are being provided in available school accommodation which is being reconfigured as a special class. Each special class at primary level is allocated 1 teacher and 2 SNAs and at post-primary level, schools receive 1.5 teachers and 2 SNAs.
Details of the new special classes are available on the NCSE website.
Schools seeking to establish new special classes should continue to engage with the NCSE at local level. In sanctioning new special classes, the NCSE have due regard to the level of need in an area and the existing provision, including how many places are expected to be available through the normal movement of students from primary to post-primary or finishing school.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to achieve their full potential.
293. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current status of an additional accommodation project application by a school (details supplied); when they can proceed to the next phase; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31570/26]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter my departments pipeline to provide for a two-classroom special educational needs (SEN) base. The responsibility for this project has been devolved to the school authority.
A revised Stage 1/2a developed design report was received by my department and is currently being reviewed from both a technical and cost perspective in accordance with the requirements of the Public Infrastructure guidelines. All projects, including this one, will undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the public Infrastructure Guidelines. Managing timing, scope, and cost is crucial to staying within budgetary limits for the overall program.
As the Deputy will be aware, I have recently published the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, the department led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 to assess and evaluate the progression of individual projects through the design pipeline having regard to the continual need to maximise existing capacity and determine the prioritised needs going forward. This process will involve engagement with key stakeholders and individual schools and will ultimately inform the next tranches of programme rollout to tender. The department-led Energy and Condition Survey of the school estate, which will be finalised later in 2026, will provide an additional evidence base for assessing priorities.
Based on this ongoing prioritisation process some projects may be added to the list over the course of 2026 and 2027 having regard to their prioritisation and urgency of need and taking account also of the ongoing ability to progress them to tender and construction within the parameters of overall funding. Where appropriate, my department will also assess opportunities to undertake advance enabling works for the most urgent and complex projects to facilitate a smooth progression to construction in 2028 and beyond.
The accommodation needs at this school will be considered as part of the ongoing overall department-led prioritisation process, in consultation with the school’s patron and school authorities.
294. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education and Youth to define the emergency in the context of emergency works funding; and the way a school can act proactively to prevent harm if funding applications are repeatedly denied due to being deemed as not 'sudden and unforeseen' (details supplied). [31577/26]
View answerAs the Deputy maybe aware, the purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.
An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope works to address the emergency situation. The EWS is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides only an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) which deals with upgrade works to the school.
Schools also receive Minor Works Grant funding on an annual basis which can be used to address maintenance issues that do not fall within the remit of the EWS.
295. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) was excluded form DEIS plus. [31578/26]
View answerAddressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth and for the Government. The new DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence this year, launched as part of the DEIS Strategy to 2035, represents the most significant expansion of targeted supports since the establishment of DEIS. DEIS Plus is designed to provide enhanced, evidence-based supports to a cohort of 121 schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage, identified through a refined data-based model that draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage.
This approach ensures that additional resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact, and forms a core element of the wider €48 million full-year investment across both the DEIS Strategy and the DEIS Plus scheme. Approximately 30,000 children and young people attending DEIS Plus schools will benefit from these targeted supports.
Schools in the DEIS Plus scheme will receive strengthened, research-informed supports across wellbeing, attendance, engagement, guidance, leadership capacity, community partnerships and access to services, including the introduction of a new positive mental health and wellbeing initiative to support a whole-school approach to student wellbeing. This targeted enhancement of supports will not result in any dilution of resources for schools that do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the scheme.
It is important to stress that a school not identified through the DEIS Plus model does not in any way imply that the department is saying that disadvantage does not exist within that school community. DEIS Plus schools were identified using a refined, rules-based model built on nationally available pupil-level administrative data. The model draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage, including small-area deprivation, lone parenthood and unemployment, Traveller and Roma identity, and children living in State-funded emergency accommodation or international protection accommodation. These indicators are applied consistently across all schools using enrolment data from the past three years.
I also recognise that some schools are operating in the context of complex local pressures within their wider communities. While these challenges are often well understood locally, they are not always captured in datasets that can be fairly and consistently applied across the entire school system. A rules-based national model must consider all schools on the same basis; it cannot substitute locally held knowledge for data that are not available or comparable nationwide.
My department is committed to ensuring that all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner in which they have been identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme. Schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS Plus identification model to their school enrolment data may appeal that outcome.
Information on the appeal process can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/circulars/deis-plus-scheme-appeal-process/
296. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) was excluded form DEIS plus.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31579/26]
View answerAddressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth and for the Government. The new DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence this year, launched as part of the DEIS Strategy to 2035, represents the most significant expansion of targeted supports since the establishment of DEIS. DEIS Plus is designed to provide enhanced, evidence-based supports to a cohort of 121 schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage, identified through a refined data-based model that draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage.
This approach ensures that additional resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact, and forms a core element of the wider €48 million full-year investment across both the DEIS Strategy and the DEIS Plus scheme. Approximately 30,000 children and young people attending DEIS Plus schools will benefit from these targeted supports.
Schools in the DEIS Plus scheme will receive strengthened, research-informed supports across wellbeing, attendance, engagement, guidance, leadership capacity, community partnerships and access to services, including the introduction of a new positive mental health and wellbeing initiative to support a whole-school approach to student wellbeing. This targeted enhancement of supports will not result in any dilution of resources for schools that do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the scheme.
It is important to stress that a school not identified through the DEIS Plus model does not in any way imply that the department is saying that disadvantage does not exist within that school community. DEIS Plus schools were identified using a refined, rules-based model built on nationally available pupil-level administrative data. The model draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage, including small-area deprivation, lone parenthood and unemployment, Traveller and Roma identity, and children living in State-funded emergency accommodation or international protection accommodation. These indicators are applied consistently across all schools using enrolment data from the past three years.
I also recognise that some schools are operating in the context of complex local pressures within their wider communities. While these challenges are often well understood locally, they are not always captured in datasets that can be fairly and consistently applied across the entire school system. A rules-based national model must consider all schools on the same basis; it cannot substitute locally held knowledge for data that are not available or comparable nationwide.
My department is committed to ensuring that all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner in which they have been identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme. Schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS Plus identification model to their school enrolment data may appeal that outcome.
Information on the appeal process can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/circulars/deis-plus-scheme-appeal-process/
297. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) was excluded form DEIS plus. [31580/26]
View answerAddressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth and for the Government. The new DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence this year, launched as part of the DEIS Strategy to 2035, represents the most significant expansion of targeted supports since the establishment of DEIS. DEIS Plus is designed to provide enhanced, evidence-based supports to a cohort of 121 schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage, identified through a refined data-based model that draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage.
This approach ensures that additional resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact, and forms a core element of the wider €48 million full-year investment across both the DEIS Strategy and the DEIS Plus scheme. Approximately 30,000 children and young people attending DEIS Plus schools will benefit from these targeted supports.
Schools in the DEIS Plus scheme will receive strengthened, research-informed supports across wellbeing, attendance, engagement, guidance, leadership capacity, community partnerships and access to services, including the introduction of a new positive mental health and wellbeing initiative to support a whole-school approach to student wellbeing. This targeted enhancement of supports will not result in any dilution of resources for schools that do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the scheme.
It is important to stress that a school not identified through the DEIS Plus model does not in any way imply that the department is saying that disadvantage does not exist within that school community. DEIS Plus schools were identified using a refined, rules-based model built on nationally available pupil-level administrative data. The model draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage, including small-area deprivation, lone parenthood and unemployment, Traveller and Roma identity, and children living in State-funded emergency accommodation or international protection accommodation. These indicators are applied consistently across all schools using enrolment data from the past three years.
I also recognise that some schools are operating in the context of complex local pressures within their wider communities. While these challenges are often well understood locally, they are not always captured in datasets that can be fairly and consistently applied across the entire school system. A rules-based national model must consider all schools on the same basis; it cannot substitute locally held knowledge for data that are not available or comparable nationwide.
My department is committed to ensuring that all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner in which they have been identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme. Schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS Plus identification model to their school enrolment data may appeal that outcome.
Information on the appeal process can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/circulars/deis-plus-scheme-appeal-process/
298. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the means available to schools to improve or increase their sports facilities. [31589/26]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy, that investment and expenditure on sports facilities in both primary and post-primary schools is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the School Building Programme.
GP Rooms and PE Halls are included in the construction of all new primary and post-primary schools, respectively. Currently, approximately 90% of post-primary schools have indicated that they either have access to a PE Hall or have one on-site, with a further 5% having projects in the pipeline that will deliver such facilities. At primary level, around 70% of schools have reported having access to a GP Room, while an additional 2.5% have projects planned to provide one. These facilities play a vital role not only in supporting physical education but also in strengthening community infrastructure—particularly in developing areas where access to social amenities may be limited.
The Deputy will be aware that I have recently published the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. A key part of NDP rollout is the completion of circa 300 school building projects currently in construction. The majority of these projects are expected to be completed in 2026 and will deliver over 30,000 school places in total including 14 PE halls.
Progress will continue to be made under the NDP Investment Plan on both new and modernised PE Hall and GP Room provision as part of the rollout of new schools and large-scale projects in the existing pipeline. Funding will be invested to support curricular delivery and well-being across schools which will prioritise the development of PE halls and sporting facilities (including yards and play areas) in conjunction with the Sports Capital Fund to deliver for both schools and communities.
Additional initiatives to be rolled out over the course of the 2026 to 2030 NDP period include a PE Hall programme targeting post-primary schools that do not yet have dedicated PE Hall facilities, for delivery from 2029 onwards.
I can also confirm that my department's new Climate Action Summer Works Scheme provides a mechanism for school authorities to make small-scale improvements to school buildings and also schools' external areas such as outdoor play spaces. Schools can also use their minor works grant to upgrade outdoor play areas while repairs to existing areas may be considered under the department’s Emergency Works Scheme.
299. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Youth if an application for funding can be awarded for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31595/26]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.
An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope works to address the emergency situation. The EWS is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides only an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) which deals with upgrade works to the school.
The school in question submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for toilet facility works.
As previously noted, the EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation and, on this basis, the school was advised to submit a revised scope of works with an accompanying itemised cost breakdown.
Once this has been received the EWS team will review the revised application and will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware of the urgent nature of the works required and will keep the school informed throughout the process.
