New Deis strategy and Deis Plus scheme to receive funding of €48m

Schools in the new Deis Plus scheme — including 12 in Cork — will receive extra 'intensive, tailored supports'

Wed, 25 Mar, 2026 - 16:08

Paul Hosford

The country's most disadvantaged schools will receive additional supports under a newly-announced €48m annual scheme.

Education minister Hildegarde Naughton on Wednesday announced a new Deis strategy for schools, as well as a new Deis Plus scheme which will see an additional €48m put into 121 schools with the highest levels of disadvantage.

They will receive "intensive, tailored supports" using what the Department of Education calls a "new data-driven identification model to maximise our impact".

The plan will deliver over 400 additional roles, including around 350 new teachers and expanding other supports, with Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) services extended to 130 additional schools, including those outside the traditional Deis programme.

In Cork, there will be eight Deis Plus schools at primary level:

Scoil Padre Pio NS, Churchfield;
Scoil Aiséirí Chríost, Farranree;
Scoil Íosagáin, Farranree;
Scoil Mhuire Fatima Boys Senior, North Monastery Rd;
Scoil Mhuire, Cnoc na hAoine;
Scoil na Croise Naofa, Mahon;
Scoil Naomh Breandán, The Glen;
Scoil Naomh Mharcuis, The Glen.

A further four schools in Cork are included at the post-primary level:

Mayfield Community School;
Terence Mac Swiney Community College;
North Monastery Secondary School;
Nano Nagle College.

At St Aidan’s Community School in Tallaght yesterday, Ms Naughton said that the scheme was “really positive”.

“This is a scheme that has been tailored by education stakeholders, by school leaders, by young people themselves, describing the supports, the targeted supports that they need in their local communities. And an important part of the scheme as well, for me, was to make sure that there are other schools who are not currently Deis — 130 schools — who will have access to a home school liaison support service.”

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Asked if she was concerned that recruiting an additional 350 teachers would be challenging, Ms Naughton said she did not believe so.

“These are teacher posts as well as for a lot of the home school liaisons. There is a huge amount of interest there.

“Even when you look at numbers coming through our CAO programme, there’s a lot of interest in working in the teaching profession. And I don’t think there will be an issue around that.”

The plan also includes 33 additional school leadership posts, enhanced grant funding for the 121 schools, and increased funding for youth services close to post-primary schools.

Children’s Rights Alliance

The Children’s Rights Alliance said that the scheme was “the most significant step the Government have taken to address educational disadvantage”.

Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance said: “This month, the statistics showed once again that children and young people are experiencing the worst levels of poverty and inequality of any age group in Irish society.

“That poverty impacts every single aspect of a child’s life and will require every system in society and every Government department to step up their response to ensure that that fate is not just accepted.”

The alliance particularly welcomed the scheme's funding for all schools in the Deis Plus scheme to support breakfast clubs and prioritisation in the expansion of the Education Therapy Service when the service is implemented in mainstream schools to provide access to speech and language therapy and occupational therapy in school.