269. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps being taken to maximise participation in the Summer Programme 2027; and to ensure that the highest possible number of students can avail of it. [66533/26]

The Summer Programme is an educational programme for children with complex special educational needs which is run during the summer months.  All primary, post primary and special schools are given an opportunity to run a programme for those children who need it the most.  These children can continue to be supported, nurtured and encouraged to engage in a fun and inclusive educational setting.

In previous years, substantial funding has been secured to ensure the continuance of the annual investment in the Summer Programme, rising from €40 million in 2021 to €62 million in 2025.  All of the funding is utilised to meet the associated costs and to ensure a comprehensive programme is available.

Since 2019, the Summer Programme has gone from strength to strength.  In 2025, almost 2,000 individual school-based programmes were delivered with almost 71,000 children having participated in both the school and home-based programmes.  This is compared with the 300 schools and 13,000 children who took part in 2019.

The main priority of the Summer Programme has always been to ensure that children with complex special educational needs, especially in special schools, have access to a school-based programme.

In response to the Deputy’s question regarding the steps being taken to maximise participation in the Summer Programme, various supports have been introduced and implemented to encourage even more schools to participate.  For special schools, these include:

• a bespoke pilot programme,

• the appointment of a National Coordinator,

• a shorter school day,

• student teacher placement role,

• additional grant funding,

• and school transport.

For all schools, supports include:

• key leadership roles like the Summer Programme Organiser and Summer Programme Manager,

• higher personal rate of pay for staff,

• a workforce portal to recruit external staff,

• faster payment to staff,

• and enhanced capitation.

In addition, the Department of Education and Youth and the Department of Social Protection partnered together in 2025 and 2026 in a pilot project designed to combat holiday hunger.  Schools who provided meals during the school term were given the option of offering them during their summer programmes.  In providing school meals, it is expected that this will ease the burden on parents and help to reduce the costs for schools running a summer programme.

All of the supports and incentives introduced in recent years have been designed to increase participation by enabling schools to offer a Summer Programme. These measures are aimed at maximising the number of children who can access a school?based programme, with a particular focus on ensuring that children with the most complex needs receive targeted support.  The Department will also continue engaging with stakeholders to ensure that the highest possible number of children who need this support can continue to avail of it.