Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 May 2026
619. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth where a school is granted DEIS plus status, if the new wellbeing teacher post is for a permanent teacher; if the staff member can only take the position for five years; if a principal can choose the candidate, or whether it is open for internal interview, like the HSCL role. [34992/26]
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. It 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 positive mental health and wellbeing (PMHW) initiative is a core element of the DEIS Plus scheme. Each school participating in the scheme is allocated a PMHW coordinator. The post must be advertised to the teaching staff of the school, and the PMHW coordinator must be an existing member of the school’s teaching staff. The eligibility of applicants must be confirmed by the school in advance of the interview process.
The PMHW coordinator may remain in the post for up to five years, after which they must vacate the post for a minimum of three years before reapplying.
Further information on the PMHW coordinator role and assignment process can be found in circular 0031/2026, which can be found at: http://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/c9e08674/PMHW_Coordinator_Circular_ENG.pdf
