Jen Cummins
Question:58. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth will there be an increase in the budget to school completion programme to address the increase demand on their services. [69114/26]
View answerWednesday, 30 September 2026
Questions (58, 59, 60)
Jen Cummins
Question:59. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the employment and governance structures of the school completion programme. [69112/26]
View answerJen Cummins
Question:60. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the role of the School Completion Programme in the new DEIS plus schools. [69115/26]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 59 and 60 together.
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 School Completion Programme (SCP) is a key component of my department's Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme. Funding for the SCP is provided by my department through the Tusla Education Support Service (TESS), which holds national operational responsibility for the programme and supports its implementation at local level.
The programme operates alongside the other strands of the TESS, namely the Education Welfare Service (EWS) and the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme. Together, these services provide a coordinated approach to supporting educational participation, attendance and retention among children and young people experiencing disadvantage.
The new DEIS Plus scheme, 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 129 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.
One of the key actions in the DEIS Plus scheme is the appointment of Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing co-ordinators in each school. These co-ordinators will work closely with the SCP co-ordinators and other supports including HSCL co-ordinators to strengthen the integrated response for children and young people.
The DEIS Strategy includes a commitment to monitor the role and impact of the SCP to inform future measures aimed at strengthening and enhancing the delivery of SCP supports.
With regard to the employment and governance structures of the SCP, the programme of work to establish a new employment framework to support SCP delivery commenced in October 2024 and is progressing steadily. The new employment framework is designed to secure the long-term delivery of SCP services through a more consistent, robust and sustainable employment model. As a key element of SCP reform, it will help ensure that the programme is well positioned to meet the needs of children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage and early school leaving into the future.
Under the new employment framework, the Education and Training Board (ETB) sector will undertake responsibility for the local delivery of the SCP and will assume the role of employer for SCP staff.
Preparatory due diligence activities are currently underway to support the transfer of SCP staff and SCP services from voluntary Local Management Committees to the ETB sector.
A phased implementation approach is being adopted, with 31 SCP projects scheduled to transfer to 6 ETBs on 30 November 2026. The transfer of the remaining SCP staff and services to the remaining ETBs is expected to proceed on a phased basis throughout 2027.
With regard to funding, since my department assumed responsibility for the SCP in January 2021, funding for the programme has seen a yearly increase, rising from approximately €24.7 million in 2021 to just under €39 million in 2026. This significant investment, together with additional DEIS funding allocated for 2027 demonstrates my ongoing commitment to strengthening supports for children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage and early school leaving.
My department will continue to engage with TESS on the funding requirements of the SCP. Any future allocation of SCP resources will be considered over the lifetime of the DEIS Strategy to 2035 and in the context of available resources.
Question No. 59 answered with Question No. 58.
Question No. 60 answered with Question No. 58.