Topics / Educational Disadvantage

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Educational Disadvantage

161 questions from 59 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 20 October 2026.

161
questions
157 written, 4 oral
59
TDs have asked
9
parties and groups
Independents counted together
3
departments asked

Questions per month

The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.

Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthQuestions
January 20251
February 202512
March 20259
April 20251
May 20253
June 20259
July 202517
August 20250
September 20251
October 20255
November 202524
December 20258
January 20266
February 20267
March 20268
April 202614
May 202612
June 20267
July 20267
August 20260
September 20264
October 20266

Who asks, by party

The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.

  • Aontú1 from 1 TD · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil44 from 17 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael13 from 9 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party2 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent5 from 1 TD · 15 seats today
  • Labour Party14 from 7 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity1 from 1 TD · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin68 from 18 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 23
  2. 11
  3. 8
  4. 7
  5. 7
  6. 7
  7. 6
  8. 5

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Cathy Bennett Written 20 Oct 2026 · to Education
461. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools nationwide that have been included in the home school community liaison pilot initiative for DEIS rural schools; the number of these schools located in Co. Cavan; the criteria used to determine a decision in each case; and if there is an appeals process for non-inclusion. [73413/26]
Cathy Bennett Written 20 Oct 2026 · to Education
463. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied), the largest rural DEIS primary school in County Cavan, was not included in the home school community liaison pilot initiative introduced earlier this year; the criteria used for this decision; and if there is an appeals process. [73415/26]
Mark Ward Written 15 Oct 2026 · to Health
149. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health the supports available through the HSE to assist with the cost of a private dyslexia assessment for children who are not meeting developmental milestones and face long delays in the public system. [72984/26]
Jen Cummins Written 13 Oct 2026 · to Education
385. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department will consult young carers on their views on early recognition; and the way in which the framework will assess whether schools are recognising them before attendance or attainment has already suffered. [72220/26]
Jen Cummins Written 13 Oct 2026 · to Education
386. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the evidence her Department has that young carers experiences have informed DEIS school improvement planning (details supplied). [72219/26]
Jen Cummins Written 13 Oct 2026 · to Education
387. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to support schools to identify caring-related needs (details supplied); and if young carers can be explicitly included in the revised Wellbeing Policy, with their experiences informing the review. [72218/26]
Gary Gannon Written 24 Sep 2026 · to Education
326. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of primary schools that have been reclassified from DEIS Urban Band 2 to DEIS Urban Band 1 since the conclusion of the 2022 DEIS identification and appeals process; and whether any such reclassifications have taken place outside of a Department-wide application of the DEIS identification mode. [67777/26]
Gary Gannon Written 24 Sep 2026 · to Education
327. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the next application of the DEIS identification model to all schools will take place for the purposes of determining inclusion in the DEIS programme and the classification of existing schools as DEIS Urban Band 1 or Urban Band 2; and whether consideration has been given to undertaking a new assessment having regard to changes in the profile and c…
Jen Cummins Written 16 Sep 2026 · to Education
485. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether caring responsibility will be included within the DEIS strategy (details supplied); and, if not, the way in which her Department will determine whether the recognition of children “caring for others” in the strategy has led to any practical change. [64228/26]
Jen Cummins Written 16 Sep 2026 · to Education
487. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the action in the DEIS Implementation Plan 2026–2028 or the DEIS Plus plan which gives practical effect to the DEIS strategy to 2035 objective that it will align with Government approaches supporting children and young people who are 'caring for others'; and the way in which she will ensure that young carers are identified and supported through DEIS s…
Paul McAuliffe Written 28 Jul 2026 · to Education
1246. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider giving digital access to all DEIS schools for JCSP; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56568/26]
Paul McAuliffe Written 28 Jul 2026 · to Education
1247. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to her announcement of the DEIS plus scheme to outline the way in which this will interact with the review of JCSP libraries in DEIS and DEIS Plus schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56569/26]
Sorca Clarke Oral 16 Jul 2026 · to Education
10. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of the DEIS plus appeal by a school (details supplied); when this school can expect to be notified of the outcome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54075/26]
Maurice Quinlivan Written 16 Jul 2026 · to Education
98. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will be expanding the number of DEIS+ schools in Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53910/26]
James Geoghegan Written 14 Jul 2026 · to Education
298. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will report on the outcome of the DEIS Connect initiative in a school (details supplied); if this scheme has been rolled out to other schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52948/26]
Seán Ó Fearghaíl Written 8 Jul 2026 · to Education
98. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Youth the key measures taken to tackle educational disadvantage since January 2025; her priorities for same for the rest of 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51942/26]
Conor Sheehan Written 7 Jul 2026 · to Education
394. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the next review of the DEIS school programme will take place given that it has been four years since the last extension of the programme which used 2021-2022 Department of Education enrolment databases and 2016 national Census data as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation Index; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51693/26]
Jen Cummins Written 30 Jun 2026 · to Education
328. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the date in which the DEIS plus appeal decisions will be issued [48798/26]
Pearse Doherty Written 30 Jun 2026 · to Education
329. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason special needs assistant support is no longer being provided as part of the school-based DEIS literacy and numeracy summer programme; the way in which this decision aligns with her Department's commitment to inclusive education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48799/26]
Paul Murphy Written 16 Jun 2026 · to Education
419. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether the exclusion of a school (details supplied) from DEIS Plus will be reconsidered in light of the information provided which suggests that the model used at initial allocation does not capture the reality of disadvantage experienced in the school community. [44948/26]
Ciarán Ahern Written 16 Jun 2026 · to Education
436. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will support the appeal for DEIS plus status from a DEIS Band 1 school (details supplied) in Dublin South West; if she is satisfied that her Department's data-driven DEIS plus identification model fully captures the lived reality, complexity and concentration of disadvantage experienced within individual school communities; if she will reveal …
Darren O'Rourke Written 16 Jun 2026 · to Education
522. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that schools who appeal their exclusion from DEIS Plus are asked to look back on their primary online database (POD) data for three years to support their case but, in practice, they only have access to one year’s information due to data restrictions on the system; if this is something she will address to ensure full access to supp…
Naoise Ó Muirí Written 9 Jun 2026 · to Education
729. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the next round of DEIS and DEIS Plus schools will be announced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41448/26]
Niall Collins Written 9 Jun 2026 · to Education
901. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 473 of 14 April 2026, to provide additional information (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43035/26]
Rose Conway-Walsh Oral 28 May 2026 · to Education
90. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) has been excluded from DEIS and DEIS plus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40726/26]