Financing for equity in primary and secondary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to schools
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Ireland has a largely centralised education system, with the Department of Education being directly responsible for policy formulation, allocation of resources, and school-level administration and quality assurance. All funding for education at the primary and secondary levels (including capital, personnel and operating costs) flows from the central government directly to schools. Teacher salaries are paid directly by the Department of Education. See here for a diagram of the education funding flow. In 2021, Ireland allocated 11.7% of its public expenditure and 2.9% of its GDP on education.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Schools are financed directly by the central government, with only a minimal regional layer of educational administration.
2. Education resources to schools
Grants for Schools and Classes with Students with Special Educational Needs
Under the Free Education Scheme, the primary source of funding for schools that do not charge fees is capitation grants, provided by the Department of Education on a fixed per-student basis to cover operating expenses. In 2025, the basic capitation rates were set at 224 EUR per student for primary schools and 386 EUR for secondary schools.
Enhanced Capitation Grants and Additional Funding for Students with Special Educational Needs
Enhanced capitation grants are allocated for students with special educational needs in special schools or special classes attached to mainstream schools. A distinction is made between students with low-incidence and high-incidence disabilities: high-incidence disabilities, including specific learning difficulties and borderline/mild general learning disabilities, are provided with additional teaching resources without external assessment, while low-incidence disabilities, such as physical disability, deafness or hearing impairment, visual impairment, emotional disturbance, moderate, severe, or profound general learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders, and assessed syndromes, are allocated resources accordingly. Enhanced capitation grants have been provided since 1990, and the National Council for Special Education, established under the 2004 Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, oversees delivery of education services. Schools and classes for students with special educational needs may also apply for additional funding, including start-up grants of 30,000 EUR for new special classes, small-scale re-purposing works grants up to 70,000 EUR, larger re-purposing works grants above 70,000 EUR, modular accommodation, specialised furniture and equipment grants, assistive technology grants, and support for school transport services.
Ireland's Department of Education provides detailed figures for the revised capitation grants for primary schools and voluntary secondary schools in 2024. In primary schools, grants cover mainstream and special education, including allocations for students with visual or hearing impairments, deafness, learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, physical disability, autism, specific speech and language disorders, and multiple disabilities. In voluntary secondary schools, grant types include standard capitation, special class grants, Irish and bilingual grants, Traveller capitation, book grants, Junior Certificate School Programme grants, and Transition Year grants. The tables specify amounts based on student age, type of special educational need, and particular programmes.
At the secondary level, community and comprehensive schools, as well as education and training board schools have different funding arrangements.
Delivering Equality of Inclusion in Schools (DEIS)
Launched in 2005, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme is the Department of Education’s main policy initiative addressing educational disadvantage, providing additional targeted resources to schools serving socio-economically disadvantaged communities. This scheme has its roots in the 1984 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. The DEIS identification model, initially based on principal surveys of student characteristics, was refined in 2017 with the introduction of the Pobal Haase Pratschke (HP) Index, which uses census data to measure relative affluence and deprivation by neighbourhood across three dimensions: demographic profile, social class composition, and labour market situation. Each student is assigned an HP index score based on home address, reflecting the socio-economic capital of their area.
The DEIS school identification process uses the HP Index to group students as very disadvantaged, disadvantaged, or borderline disadvantaged, while also accounting (since a 2021/22 revision) for Traveller and Roma students, those in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) or Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROC), and children experiencing homelessness. A weighted score is then calculated for each school and standardised against national distributions. Schools that exceed the Department of Education threshold are designated as DEIS, with primary schools further classified into DEIS Urban Band 1, DEIS Urban Band 2, or DEIS Rural.
Most additional support to DEIS schools is provided in kind and earmarked, consisting of two earmarked cash grants and a range of in-kind services co-financed by different government departments, depending on the DEIS category. Of the additional resources, most consist of external services (48%) and additional staff (43%), mainly the School Completion Programme and the School Meals Programme. The School Meals Programme alone represents 34% of DEIS investment, alongside support for materials and training. Cash transfers to schools include the DEIS grant (7%) and the schoolbooks grant for post-primary schools (0.5%), while other supports (2%) cover continuing professional learning, the Early Start programme, and expanded National Educational Psychological Service provision. Schools therefore have limited discretion over the use of these supports. One of the key additional measures is the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme, funded by the Department of Education and managed by Tusla’s Educational Support Service, which works with parents and caregivers in DEIS schools, with a particular focus on families of children at risk of early school leaving, as well as Traveller, Roma, and immigrant families. Additional supports also include enhanced guidance counselling and teacher supports.
Free Schoolbooks Scheme
The government additionally introduced a free schoolbooks scheme for all students in primary and special schools (2023) and secondary schools (2024). Under this scheme all schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks are provided for free by schools to students, allowing schools to support students from low-income families or families experiencing financial hardship. Schools receive funding directly from the government to cover these costs at a per capita rate.
3. Education resources to students and families
School Transport Scheme
The School Transport Scheme, first established in 1967, is operated by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education, who funds the scheme. The scheme is made up of three separate schemes, the school transport scheme for primary, post-primary and for children with special educational needs. Transport is provided to students who live 3.2 km and over from their local primary school and 4.8 km and over from their local post-primary school. Children may also qualify for school transport if they attend their nearest minority religious denominational school due to religious ethos, even if it is not their nearest school; their nearest all-Irish school, even if it is not their nearest school; and their nearest all-English school, even if it is not their nearest school. Children with special educational needs are eligible for free transport to and from special schools and to special classes. Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers.
Transport is also provided for children who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine and those residing in International Protection Accommodation Services centres.
If a student qualifies for the school transport scheme but there is no transport service available, a Remote Area Grant may be paid to contribute towards private transport arrangements. The Remote Area Boarding Grant also provides funding for students to get boarding or lodging so they can attend a free second-level school. Students living on offshore islands which do not have a school providing suitable free second-level education may also qualify.
Direct financial support is also provided to students at the higher education level through schemes such as the Student Grant Scheme, the Student Assistance Fund, the Fund for Students with Disabilities, Student Accommodation Assistance, and the Back-to-Education Allowance.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, first introduced in 1990, is a one-off payment by the Department of Social Protection to help eligible families with the cost of school uniforms and shoes each year. The allowance is paid in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 and 18 and 22 if returning to full-time second-level education in a recognised school. Applicants qualify if their household is within certain income limits, they receive a social welfare payment (including an illness benefit, disabled benefit and maternity benefit, among others) or are participating in an approved education, employment or training scheme, and are residents in Ireland. In 2025, eligibility was extended to include children for whom Foster Care Allowance is being paid, with an estimated up to 2,300 children now qualifying for the allowance.
School Completion Programme
Established in 2002 and integrated into the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) framework, the School Completion Programme supports primary and secondary students at risk of early school leaving, as well as those out of school without successful transition to alternative education, training, or employment. Funded annually by Tusla Education Support Services under the Child and Family Agency, with oversight from the Department of Education, the programme aims to improve attendance, participation, and retention through three levels of intervention: intensive staff support for those with the greatest need, short-term interventions of up to eight weeks to address temporary crises, and evidence-based universal measures such as life skills programmes. Supports are provided in school, around the school day, during holidays, and for young people out of school due to avoidance, suspension, expulsion, or early leaving. Nationwide, 121 projects operate across DEIS primary and post-primary schools in Bands 1 and 2. Identification of students relies mainly on HSCL coordinators (90%), principals (85%), and student support teams (70%), with poor attendance (97%) and school avoidance or reluctance (89%) being the most common criteria.
5. School meal programmes
School Meals Programme
The School Meals Programme, funded by the Department of Social Protection, was initially limited to Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) schools and those with high concentrations of disadvantage, but was extended in 2024 to include non-DEIS primary schools. Funding is allocated on a per-meal, per-child, per-day basis to ensure the provision of regular, nutritious food. The Hot School Meals Programme, introduced in 2019, was expanded to all primary schools by April 2024; since September 2023, all DEIS primary schools have been entitled to a hot meal, while DEIS post-primary schools provide a daily cold meal, either breakfast or lunch. All meals must comply with Nutrition Standards for School Meals, developed with support from Safefood and the HSE, and in 2025 the government announced a review of these standards to be carried out by a dietician under the Department of Health and the Interdepartmental Group on School Meals.
This profile has been reviewed by Dr. Darragh Flannery, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Limerick, Ireland; and Dr. Selina McCoy, Associate Research Professor of Sociology, Trinity College Dublin.
