Questions

806. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the way the DEIS identification model accounts for rural schools (details supplied) whose enrolment profile changed rapidly due to the placement of a large number of international protection applicants in nearby accommodation centres, resulting in the displacement of local pupils and a complete shift in the school’s socio-educational profile; and if …

807. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the specific metrics, indicators, and weightings used in the DEIS identification model; the way in which the geographical area is calculated; the way non-local enrolments are treated; the way in which schools with high concentrations of need but low local deprivation scores are assessed, particularly in the case of a school (details supplied); and if…

808. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the DEIS eligibility of a school (details supplied) whose enrolment profile was transformed as a direct consequence of State decisions on international protection accommodation, resulting in the school becoming reliant on non-local, high-need pupils; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42127/26]

809. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the interim supports that can be provided to a school (details supplied) whose teaching workload is now dominated by English-language instruction for newly arrived pupils, following the redistribution of international protection families to the area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42128/26]

810. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will establish an appeals mechanism for schools including a school (details supplied) whose DEIS ineligibility arises from geographical indicators that no longer reflect the actual pupil population, due to State-driven redistribution of international protection applicants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42129/26]

811. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the specific criteria, indicators, data sources, and weightings used to determine eligibility for DEIS status and DEIS Plus status at both primary and post-primary level, including the way socio-economic disadvantage is measured, the way geographical indicators are applied and the way in which pupil-level data is incorporated into the model; and if s…

93. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will list the occasions on which she has met with representative groups of SNAs to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39413/26]

147. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the pause on the review of special needs assistant allocations is still in place; when she expects that review to proceed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39412/26]

325. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the concerns among parents regarding the apparent withdrawal or reduction of access to Department-funded summer camps in primary schools; the reason children who have previously attended and benefited significantly from these summer programmes are now unable to access them in 2026; if changes have been made to fundi…

575. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth her position on the increasing practice in post-primary schools of requiring students to purchase a personal laptop as part of their education; if such a requirement is mandated, recommended, or optional under Department policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39515/26]

576. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if any element of the junior certificate cycle or leaving certificate curriculum requires students to have access to a personal laptop outside of school; if project work associated with the revised senior cycle programmes can be fully completed using existing school information technology facilities; and if she will clarify her Department's guidance …

577. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on schools including schools participating in DEIS requiring families to purchase high-cost digital devices. [39517/26]

578. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if guidance has been issued to schools regarding procurement models for digital devices, including rental schemes, leasing arrangements, or shared-use models; if schools are permitted to recommend specific suppliers or devices; and the safeguards in place to ensure value for money and avoid undue financial pressure on families. [39518/26]

581. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth her assessment of the impact of the revised senior cycle programme, particularly the increased emphasis on continuous project-based assessment across multiple subjects; the way she intends to address concerns that this has created an expectation that students must have access to a personal laptop; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3952…

582. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the planning or impact assessment carried out by her Department prior to the introduction of the revised senior cycle programme in relation to students' access to digital devices; if the financial burden on families of providing laptops was considered; and the measures put in place to mitigate this. [39523/26]

583. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the additional resources, funding, or supports that have been provided to post-primary schools to meet the increased digital and project work demands arising from the revised senior cycle programme; and if such supports are intended to remove the need for families to purchase personal laptops. [39524/26]

584. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department considers it necessary for each post-primary student to have their own personal laptop in order to fully participate in the revised senior cycle programme; and if not, the alternative arrangements that should be in place within schools. [39525/26]

596. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the legal basis for her Department's position that guidance on best practice arrangements for opt-outs arise only from the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018, given that section 30(2)(e) of the Education Act 1998 already requires that students not attend instruction in any subject contrary to the conscience of a parent or student; and if she …

597. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is satisfied that her Department's current approach does not create a two-tier system resulting in less favourable treatment of parents and students seeking to exercise conscience-based opt-out rights under section 30(2)(e) of the Education Act 1998 in respect of non-religious instruction, including instruction objected to on religious or mora…

598. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether, in light of Departmental circulars indicating that opt-out arrangements for SPHE/RSE are a matter for individual schools, if she is satisfied that this approach does not reproduce the same difficulties previously identified in respect of religious instruction opt-outs, including inconsistency between schools, lack of transparency for familie…

472. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth in conjunction with the Minister for Transport, if she recognises that expanding school transport provision for a school (details supplied) would significantly reduce traffic volumes at the school gate; and whether this aligns with Safe Routes to School, Road Safety Strategy and Green Schools objectives promoting reduced car dependency at schools. [3…

629. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) with an exceptionally high concentration of socio-economic disadvantage and complex educational needs was excluded from both DEIS and DEIS Plus, and whether she will review this decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35198/26]

630. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason non-DEIS schools are excluded from the DEIS appeals process; the mechanism that exists for a school (details supplied) to seek reconsideration of its exclusion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35199/26]

631. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will conduct a needs-based assessment of a school (details supplied) in light of its exceptionally high level of concentrated disadvantage and the absence of DEIS supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35200/26]

632. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the interim supports that can be provided immediately to a school (details supplied) pending any future DEIS review, given the school’s severe resource shortages, food insecurity among pupils, and high levels of complex need; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35201/26]