91. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether in light of a new report (details supplied), which shows that children in Dublin's south-west inner city (SWIC) are far less likely than children in other areas to attend third-level education, the investment in secondary education she and her Department will make to improve access to third level for children in SWIC; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35593/26]

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.

The DEIS Strategy to 2035, which I launched in March, is the first long-term, whole-system approach to addressing educational disadvantage. This strategy recognises education as central to breaking cycles of disadvantage, expanding opportunity, and ensuring long-term security. It sets out a more flexible model of support, so that resources are aligned with each school’s level of need as it changes over time.

The strategy 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. The DEIS Strategy to 2035 sets out actions under the strategic objective 2.2, to develop an agile resource allocation model to support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage in all primary and post-primary schools. These actions focus on the continued enhancement of the data available to measure school level disadvantage and for the development of a more flexible resource allocation model that can react to change in school needs and provide the right resources at the right time. The increase in DEIS Grant and HSCL allocation for schools in the DEIS programme, and the allocation of HSCL on a pilot basis to a selection of schools that are not in the DEIS programme is a first step in the move to that more dynamic model.

The new DEIS Plus scheme was 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, including 2 primary schools in Dublin 8,  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.

It is important to stress that a school not identified through the DEIS Plus model does not in any way imply that my department is saying that disadvantage does not exist within that school community. DEIS Plus schools were identified using a refined, rules-based model built on nationally available pupil-level administrative data. The model draws on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage, including small-area deprivation, lone parenthood and unemployment, Traveller and Roma identity, and children living in State-funded emergency accommodation or international protection accommodation. These indicators are applied consistently across all schools using enrolment data from the past three years.

For inclusion in DEIS Plus, schools must demonstrate both a level of disadvantage that is significantly above the national average under the model and a high concentration of pupils from very or extremely disadvantaged areas. My 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.

My 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 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 the following link: [www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/circulars/deis-plus-scheme-appeal-process/]

Matters relating to access to third-level education fall within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Further and Higher Education Research Innovation and Science. The DEIS Strategy to 2035 includes actions to work with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, to support learners at risk of educational disadvantage in progressing effectively and transitioning successfully to life beyond post-primary school.