Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019
629. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the annual cost of the DEIS programme; the additional funding provided to DEIS schools by primary and secondary band and the location in 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019; if the specific financial supports are made available to such schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34477/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department’s overall annual spend on the DEIS Programme is approximately €125 million. Additional funding is provided by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for the School Meals Programme and by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for the School Completion Programme.
The substantial annual investment by my Department on the DEIS Programme includes the provision of;
- 416 Home School Community Liaison Coordinators serving 539 schools, catering for approximately 156,000 pupils.
- Additional posts for DEIS Band 1 primary schools to allow for a reduced pupil teacher ratio.
- Curriculum supports
- Priority access to continuing professional development
- School Excellence Fund - DEIS
- DEIS grants and enhanced book grants.
The full list of supports available to DEIS Schools is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/DEIS-Supporting-Information/Supports-to-DEIS-Schools.html.
In the 2018/19 school year there are 896 schools participating in the DEIS Programme serving over 183,000 pupils and the full list of schools (broken down by Urban Band 1, Urban Band 2, Rural and Post-Primary) is available also on my Department’s website at
www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/.
The list also gives the location of each school.
The number of schools participating in the DEIS Programme can change slightly year on year taking account of both school amalgamations and school closures. 79 schools were added to the DEIS Programme for the first time from September 2017 following the application of the new DEIS identification process and 30 more schools were upgraded from Band 2 to Band 1.
Each DEIS school is paid an annual DEIS Grant which the school should use to support those pupils most at risk of educational disadvantage. The following table gives details of DEIS Grant expenditure for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 school years and the latest data available for the 2019/20 school year.
|
School Year |
Total Primary € |
Total Post Primary |
|
2017/18 |
€12,154,155 |
€4,007,245 |
|
2018/19 |
€12,175,367 |
€4,034,588 |
|
2019/20 |
€11,979,690 |
Figure not available – grants will issue in October 2019 |
