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1. Programmes for vulnerable young people

2. Funding

3. Quality assurance

Programmes for vulnerable young people

There are a number of programmes that address social inclusion issues implemented at local authority level. 

Operating in every county Children and Young Peoples services committees (CYPSCs) are county-level committees that bring together the main statutory, community and voluntary providers of services to children and young people.  They provide a forum for joint planning and co-ordination of activity to ensure that children, young people and their families receive improved and accessible services.  Their role is to enhance interagency co-operation and to realise the eight national outcomes set out in Young Ireland National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023 - 2028.  

Each local authority area also has a  Local Community Development Committee (LCDC’s) that brings together elected members state agencies, community organisations and business representatives. The committee has responsibility to develop the Local Economic and Community Pan (LECP) which includes social inclusion priorities. The LECP guidelines are issues by the Department of Rural and Community Development but require that plans align with national frameworks for youth including in Young Ireland National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023 - 2028.  

Common youth-related themes include:

• Education and training: Supporting school completion, access to further education, apprenticeships, and skills development

• Employment: Youth unemployment initiatives, work placements, enterprise supports for young people

• Participation: Strengthening Comhairle na nÓg, youth engagement in local decision-making

• Health and wellbeing; Mental health supports, youth services, recreational facilities

• Disadvantaged youth: Targeted actions for early school leavers, young people in care Travellers, young people with disabilities

'DEIS - Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools: an action plan for educational inclusion' is the main policy initiative of the Department of Education to address educational disadvantage at school level. Initially Introduced in 2005, the plan aimed to  bring together several programmes which targeted educational disadvantage throughout the public schools’ system under the framework of Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS).

DEIS Plan 2017 Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools is the government’s main policy initiative aimed at tackling educational disadvantage. DEIS Plan 2017 is discussed in further detail in Chapter 6.1 General Context, under Social Inclusion.

DEIS is an integrated approach to the issue of educational inclusion which provides for a standardised system for identifying and regularly reviewing levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP) to bring together and build upon previous schemes and programmes. In the 2022/23 academic year there are over 1,200 schools (967 primary and 235 Post Primary) in the DEIS Programme serving over 240,000 pupils. 

The School Support Programme, managed by Tusla Education Support Services (TESS), includes the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) and the School Completion Programme (SCP).

The Home School Community Liaison scheme aims to improve cooperation between home, schools and communities to advance the educational interests of disadvantaged children. Further details about The School Support Programme are available in Chapter 6.3 Preventing early leaving from education and training (ELET). The School Completion Programme aims to help students from disadvantaged areas stay in school to complete their Leaving Certificate (final year exams).

Several third level institutes of education have education access programmes. These programmes support people from areas with low progression rates to higher education to reach their full educational potential. They also work in partnership with the local community to engage with local schools and communities to raise awareness of higher education opportunities.

HEAR is a third level admissions scheme for school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. HEAR is for school leavers (under 23 yrs as of 1 January 2026) who are resident in the Republic of Ireland, who have the ability to benefit from and succeed in higher education, and who come from socio-economic groups in Irish society that are underrepresented in third level. Set up to tackle educational disadvantage, HEAR states that socio-economic disadvantage negatively impacts on educational attainment at school and affects progression by some second level students to third level.

Funding

While the LECP doesn’t hold its own specific budget, various funding streams are made available for its implementation including:

 Dormant accounts funds – for disadvantages communities,

SICAP-Social Inclusion and community Activation Programme 

SICAP is the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme that aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality.  It does this through Programme Implementers, agencies and companies, who work with the most disadvantaged and the hardest to reach in communities. 

The programme is administered by Pobal and managed locally by 33 Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) with support from Local Authorities. It is co-funded by the Irish Government, through the Department of Rural and Community Development, and the European Social Fund Plus under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills, and Training (EIST) Programme 2021-2027.

SICAP is a targeted, holistic programme, for those who are most disadvantaged and less likely to access mainstream services, which provides supports directly to beneficiaries and links them into existing services. It provides supports to respond to individual and community needs, aiming to ensure that beneficiaries receive quality, tailored supports, while also allowing flexibility to adapt actions to local need. The Budget 2026 announced almost €74 million in funding allocated for SICAP.  

Funding for the DEIS programme saw on increase of 13% in the 2025 budget allocation totalling €229 million, including a 20% increase in funding for Home School Community Liaison coordinators. 

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance, monitoring, and oversight of Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in Ireland are primarily managed through a collaborative structure involving national departments, state agencies, and local authorities.

Key responsibility for quality assurance rests with:

• Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD): Responsible for national policy, funding, and conducting reviews of LCDC performance.

• Pobal: Acts as an agent for the Department of Rural and Community Development, overseeing the national management of programmes like SICAP (Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme).

• NOAC (National Oversight and Audit Commission): Reviews and verifies the quality assurance of the Public Spending Code within local authorities, which includes reviewing LCDC project expenditures

The process of identifying schools for participation in DEIS is managed by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of the Department of Education and supported by quality assurance work co-ordinated through the Department's regional offices and the Inspectorate.