Niall Collins
Question:473. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will address matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36673/26]
View answerTuesday, 19 May 2026
Questions (473)
Written answers
Addressing 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 have been identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme using the DEIS Plus identification model, an objective and data-based approach using nationally available indicators applied consistently across all schools. The identification model is underpinned by a range of administrative data from the past three years on every child and young person enrolled in primary and post-primary school. This data includes:
• The Pobal HP Deprivation Index for the small area in which the child or young person lives, obtained through the child’s or young person’s address data provided by their school on the DEY Primary Online Database (POD) or the Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD).
• The child’s or young person’s ethnicity if provided by their school on POD or PPOD.
• If the child’s or young person’s address on POD or PPOD matches an address of State-funded homeless accommodation.
• If the child’s or young person’s address on POD or PPOD matches an address of an International Protection Accommodation Centre (IPAS) or Emergency Reception and Orientation Centre (EROC).
The DEIS Plus identification model includes the addition of a DEIS Plus index. The DEIS Plus index was developed by the department’s statistics unit to support the identification of schools for DEIS Plus. The DEIS Plus index uses the same factors as the Pobal HP Deprivation Index but places greater weight on lone parenthood and unemployment, which have been widely identified as key factors in persistent and intergenerational disadvantage.
Children and young people from ‘very disadvantaged’ or ‘extremely disadvantaged areas’ (HP score -20 under either Pobal HP Deprivation Index or the DEIS Plus index), residing in State-funded emergency accommodation, residing in IPAS or EROC accommodation or identifying as Traveller or Roma are designated priority cohorts within the model. Further information on the identification process is available on gov.ie/deis
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.
It is possible for two neighbouring schools to have a different profile in terms of proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and the relative weighting of disadvantage apportioned in each. The designation of neighbouring schools to different DEIS status does not mean that there is no educational disadvantage present in one school, but that the concentrated level of educational disadvantage of the two schools is different.
The department also recognises 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.
The 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 have the opportunity to have that outcome reviewed. The appeal process is now open until 25 May. Schools have the opportunity to update their school enrolment data for the years 2023/2024, 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 on POD and PPOD, where they identify that the information already provided is not an accurate reflection of their school enrolment for those years. Schools may also request that the application of the model to their existing data is reviewed.
Information on the appeal process can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/circulars/deis-plus-scheme-appeal-process/
It should be noted that disadvantage scores can be an important tool for identifying need and directing support. However, the publication of these scores can lead to unfair comparisons as they do not reflect the different contexts in which schools operate. The publication of such data can also unintentionally reinforce stigma and risk the deepening of inequality. The department uses this data carefully and in context, focusing on ensuring resources and supports reach the schools that need it the most, while avoiding any potential harm to school communities. For these reasons, the department does not publish disadvantage scores.