FREE period products will be made available at more than 100 schools across thirteen counties in Ireland.
Funding has been confirmed for schools which fall under the Irish Government’s DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) Plus scheme, which are those which have the highest number of students at risk of educational disadvantage.
The scheme sees those schools receive extra resources to support their students.
This week it was confirmed that more than 100 DEIS Plus schools will be the first in Ireland to receive free period products, an initiative which the Government eventually plans to roll out to all schools in the country.
Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton launched this initiative this week"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,” Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton said as she confirmed the plans.
“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,” Minister Naughton explained.
“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,” she added.
“Access to period 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."
A total of 101 schools in the DEIS Plus scheme will receive the period product funding , they are based in Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford.
“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 products available in all schools,” a spokesperson for Minister Naughton’s department confirmed.
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