Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
314. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the way she intends to ensure that DEIS plus schools receive access to the full range of wraparound supports, including after-school and family support services, in line with the objectives of the programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31887/26]
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.
The Programme for Government commits to the introduction of an Education Therapy Service (ETS). This service will begin in special schools and gradually extend to special classes and mainstream settings, ensuring that all children can access essential therapies in a timely and effective way. The ETS has been established as a critical and important support for children and young people in their school environment. The ETS will be delivered by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and is an additional support for children with special education needs. It is to supplement and not replace existing children’s health and disability services.
The initial phase of the ETS will commence in 45 special schools in this school year. It is important to highlight that this is the initial phase of the ETS roll-out which will occur on a phased basis with a wider roll-out to further special schools within the 2026/2027 school year and a new initiative which will see all schools benefit in the coming years.
The prioritisation of schools in the DEIS Plus scheme for access to speech and language therapy and occupational therapy forms part of the approach to phase 2 of the roll-out of ETS. Schools in the DEIS Plus scheme will be included for prioritisation in the expansion of ETS when the service is implemented in mainstream schools to provide access to these therapies in school settings. Measures will be taken to ensure that this supports delivery in schools and supplements, rather than duplicates, services currently available through Children’s Disability Network Teams or other health services.
Each school in the DEIS Plus scheme also has a full-time home school community liaison coordinator (HSCL) allocated to it. The HSCL scheme is a school-based intervention provided under the DEIS programme to address the needs of students and their families in disadvantaged areas through acknowledging and developing the role of the parent as prime educator. This is achieved through targeting the families of students most at risk of educational disadvantage and putting in place a range of appropriate support interventions that promote improved attendance, participation and retention.
The DEIS Plus scheme also commits to the following supports:
• 121 additional teacher posts, one for each DEIS Plus school, to foster a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing and strengthen co-ordination across services with the child at the centre.
• 25 additional wellbeing practitioners and 7 additional NEPS psychologists to increase access to the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot, Strand 1 (1-1 counselling) and Strand 2.
• Funding to have a breakfast club to combat food insecurity in homes and to ensure that children and young people come to class ready to learn.
• Increased funding for UBU Youth Services near DEIS Plus schools to increase engagement with young people.
• Strengthening of interagency coordination between education, youth, health and community services so that supports are more accessible and effective for schools and families.
• Expansion of the City Connects programme to more sites, serving more schools in the scheme. This programme matches children and young people in participating schools with a comprehensive set of services and enrichments based on their strengths, interests and support needs.
• The establishment of an innovation fund for schools to engage with each other and local services and industry, to develop bespoke responses that meet local needs.
Further information on the supports provided under the DEIS Plus scheme can be found at gov.ie/deis.
