Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
637. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether direct engagement has taken place with the principals of seven DEIS primary schools in Drogheda (details supplied) following their public call to the Minister and the Government to urgently review and correct the decision made to exclude these schools from the DEIS plus scheme. [40162/26]
View answerAddressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for the Minister for Education and Youth and for the Government. The new DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence this year and was 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.
The DEIS Strategy to 2035 also acknowledges that students at risk of educational disadvantage are present in all schools. It therefore focuses on improving outcomes, encouraging innovation and ensuring schools can access the right supports when needed.
As part of the DEIS Plus identification process, the DEIS Plus identification model was applied nationally to DEIS Urban Band 1 primary schools and DEIS post-primary schools. Using this model, schools were identified for inclusion in the DEIS Plus scheme through an objective and data-based approach that applies nationally available indicators consistently across all schools. The identification model is underpinned by a range of administrative data on every child and young person enrolled in primary and post-primary school.
The department 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.
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.
• Whether the child’s or young person’s address on POD or PPOD matches an address of State-funded homeless accommodation.
• Whether 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 the 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.
Following an assessment of the past three years’ data, only those schools identified as having the highest concentrations of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage have been included in the scheme. If a school has not been identified for inclusion, this does not imply there is no disadvantage in the school community. While many schools experience significant need, not all will meet the statistical threshold for inclusion at this stage. Schools will continue to be supported through the range of additional resources provided through the DEIS programme.
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 through the formal appeals process.
Schools had the opportunity to update their school enrolment data for the years 2023/2024, 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 on POD and PPOD where they identified that the information already provided was not an accurate reflection of their school enrolment for those years. Schools also had the opportunity to request that the application of the model to their existing data be reviewed. The appeal process closed on 25 May 2026. 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/
All of the schools referenced were contacted directly by my department on 27 April 2026 and informed of the DEIS Plus appeals process.
I recognise fully the concerns expressed by the schools referenced, regarding the outcome of the DEIS Plus identification process. My department officials and I regularly engage with school communities and education stakeholders on a wide range of issues and will continue to do so.
