Darren O'Rourke
Ceist:351. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the funding being provided to Traveller/Roma/refugee supports in schools. [31576/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 12 June 2025
Ceisteanna (351)
Freagraí scríofa
My department is committed to advancing educational equity for all learners, with targeted attention to groups at risk of disadvantage, including Traveller, Roma, and refugee students. To this end, the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy (TRES) 2024–2030, along with its Implementation and Action Plan 2024–2026, was published in July 2024. It represents a six-year, cross-sectoral strategy to improve participation, experience, and outcomes for these communities across early years, school, further, and higher education.
In terms of direct funding:
• €1.5 million was secured in 2024 to establish 15 Community Link Worker roles in 2025, focused on schools with high Traveller and Roma enrolments. These peer-led roles aim to strengthen engagement between schools, families, and communities, and will be evaluated over their initial 18-month term.
• Two national TRES coordinators have been appointed to support implementation of the strategy, with a combined annual cost of approximately €157,000.
• Under the Creative Youth Programme, two initiatives—Creative Clusters and BLAST (Bringing Live Arts to Students and Teachers)—were launched with a specific Traveller and Roma focus. Funding for these initiatives amounts to circa €250,000.
• An independent evaluation of the STAR-based Creative Youth initiatives is currently underway with an allocated cost of €45,000.
• Funding of €100,000 has also been secured for transition supports in 2025. These initiatives aim to ease the progression from primary to post-primary education for Traveller and Roma children, a point at which dropout risk is heightened.
• 10 HSCL posts in 14 non-DEIS post-primary schools with high levels of Traveller and Roma students at an annual cost of €700,000.
A TRES Oversight Group and a Traveller and Roma Education Forum, both including representation from Traveller and Roma organisations have been established to monitor progress, oversee implementation, and ensure community-informed evaluation.
In line with the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS II), the Department remains committed to a whole-of-government approach to addressing systemic disadvantage and ensuring all learners can thrive in an inclusive education system.
My department’s approach is to prioritise integration and inclusion into mainstream education for all children and young people who arrive into the State seeking international protection.
In March 2022, in response to the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) were established to support the needs of Ukrainian children arriving in Ireland. These teams now also support children who arrive seeking international protection arrivals to find a place and enrol in school.
The primary role of REALT is to assist children in finding school places, to support schools to meet the needs of these children as they arise and to co-ordinate the provision of education services to children and families across their defined area. The teams ensure that clear, accessible information flows are in place between schools, local education support services and national support structures.
All children and young people up to the age of 18 years, irrespective of their immigration status, have access to free primary and post-primary education in the same manner as Irish nationals. A school must admit all students applying where it is not oversubscribed, and places are available. Schools must also include a statement in its admission policy stating that the school will not discriminate in its admission on any of nine specified grounds, including race and religion.
If a situation arises where there is no additional capacity in any local schools for a child who is seeking international protection, the REALT co-ordinator will then seek to identify capacity in another area and to organise school transport to those locations.
Where all capacity in a reasonable transport radius has been exhausted, the REALT will then engage with local schools and my department’s Planning and Building Unit to identify an appropriate solution.
The Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile and encompasses the Language Support (EAL) allocation that schools were allocated in previous years. All schools are advised in the first instance to review whether the needs of newly enrolled pupils can be met from within existing allocations.
My department plays an important role in supporting the wellbeing and mental health of our young people. The approach set out in the department’s wellbeing policy is a whole school and preventative approach, which provides children and young people with opportunities to build core social and emotional skills and competencies. The framework also enables students to experience supportive relationships within the school setting and be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe.
In June 2023, the Department of Education launched a pilot of counselling and wellbeing supports in primary schools in selected counties. The Pilot includes two strands and works to support children’s wellbeing and mental health in schools.
Strand 1 sees direct counselling supports being provided to primary schools for the first time. Strand 2 of the pilot is the establishment of a new type of support to schools from Education Wellbeing Teams and involves the introduction of Education Wellbeing Practitioners to provide enhanced in-school supports for selected schools.
Neart – the Irish word for strength, is the new national programme of mental health and wellbeing resources and training for post-primary schools. These comprehensive supports have been developed by Jigsaw in partnership with NEPS.
The Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying was published on 1st December 2022, is a whole-education approach, which aims to prevent and address bullying in all its forms, including racist bullying, cyberbullying, gender identity bullying, and sexual harassment. Cineáltas is grounded in a child-rights-based approach and aligns with UNESCO’s Whole Education Approach to bullying prevention. It is built around four core principles: prevention, support, oversight, and community. By fostering a collective vision and providing a clear roadmap, the initiative ensures that students, parents, school staff, and the wider community work together to create inclusive and supportive school environments and by addressing identity-based and racist bullying.