Minister announces funding for free period products for schools in the DEIS Plus Scheme

The Minister for Education and Youth has announced a free period products scheme

The initiative will provide targeted support to students most at risk of educational disadvantage.

The funding represents an important step in delivering the Programme for Government commitment to provide free period products in schools and ensure that no student is held back due to period poverty.

This initial phase of the rollout will support schools in the Deis Plus scheme in making the products available to students who need them most.

The announcement follows consultation with students, teachers and school leaders across a range of primary and post-primary schools. Feedback highlights the positive impact that access to free period products can have on students’ wellbeing, dignity, attendance and participation in education.

This first phase of implementation will help lay the foundations for the wider delivery of the initiative, with the long-term objective of making free period supplies available in all schools.

A total of 101 schools in the DEIS Plus scheme across thirteen counties, including Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary, Waterford, and Wexford, will benefit from the funding announced today.

Minister Naughton said: "This funding marks an important milestone in delivering our Programme for Government commitment to ensure that free period products are available in schools, so that no student is held back due to period poverty.

“Through this initial phase, we are prioritising support for students in schools in the Deis Plus scheme who may face the greatest barriers to accessing essential period products. By working closely with these schools, we can provide practical support where it is needed most, while building towards our longer-term goal of universal provision of free period products in all recognised upper primary, post-primary and special schools.

The Minister stressed that access to these products is "a matter of dignity, equality and educational participation."

"No student should miss school, feel excluded, or struggle to engage fully in learning because they cannot afford these essential items."