Results 21-40 of 16,608 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge the significant work that goes into any construction project. I acknowledge that, for a lot of principals in schools, this does not happen overnight. It takes many years of initial working with the Department to get that approval, identifying the design team, and going through the design stages and the various pieces of work that have to happen. Insofar as possible, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: We had a similar scenario in my constituency with the same company where there was a school almost built. I am pleased to say that, similar to the Deputy's own, the school is built and the students are there. It is a fantastic complex for them. We always need to look at how we can improve the structures that are there. There is certainly a level of expertise within our ETBs, but also...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Irish Language (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I mentioned a strategy that was currently being developed. The plan is to finalise that in the coming weeks. It builds on extensive consultation that took place at national and school stakeholder levels between January and May of this year. We met almost 200 participants at a national level and over 500 participants at school level. The consultation showed that, exactly as the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Irish Language (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy is right that the current requirement for the mandatory tréimhsí foghlama sa Ghaeltacht, the Gaeltacht learning periods for primary initial teacher education programmes, is the two-week placement. This is outlined in the Teaching Council's policy, entitled "Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education". The funding was provided for that in budget 2020. The grant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Irish Language (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: In line with the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, my Department is committed to improving the teaching and learning of Irish in primary and post-primary schools. I share the Deputy's concern. We all went through school and would like to have better Irish than we do. While there are no plans to make attendance at a Gaeltacht summer course mandatory, my Department is mindful that we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Strategies (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services is the strategic framework for the youth work sector. It was published in September 2024. The purpose of the strategy is to provide a platform for an effective, data-driven and joined-up approach to the delivery of youth work and related services. The implementation of the strategy will be reported on via the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Strategies (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge, as she has, the fantastic work done by our youth workers. So much of it is unseen, and it contributes. We have spoken here many times about challenges in school and making sure children are in school. Youth workers in particular support bringing people back to school and making sure they are happy and they are active. My role and my intention, now that youth is under the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Strategies (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: There is a body of work still to do on just this and identifying where are the gaps. This is separate work that is happening in the Department on mapping exactly where the services are and what types of services are being provided. This is so we can identify where the gaps are and link up better with the education portfolio and identify what resources are needed. I want to make sure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since we last spoke at the committee, significant progress has been made. Every week, the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I, meet with the NCSE to make sure that more places are being offered. Just under 3,300, as I said previously, were notified before the February deadline. The number after that, to be honest, is changing. Every week, more children are coming to the attention of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I utterly reject the suggestion that parents are being gaslit. There has never been as much engagement with parents through the NSCE to support them. I accept that a small number of children still do not have their places. We are working on that. We will work all summer to make sure they have their places allocated to them. Parents and schools are being engaged with throughout all of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The NCSE is the national agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. This year, the NCSE has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming school year, bringing to 3,742 the number of special classes in our schools. There are new classes in every county in Ireland and, with the number of special classes doubling in the last five years, this now means that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy that the requirement for school places is kept under ongoing review, using population, enrolment, and residential development data. The country is divided into 314 school planning areas, with a geographical information system helping to identify where additional accommodation is needed at both primary and post-primary levels. Major new housing developments can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy is aware, responsibility for delivering a major project for the school in question has been devolved to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education & Training Board (DDLETB). The Department of Education originally approved the partial refurbishment of the school referred to by the Deputy and the construction of a stand-alone extension of just over 4,000 square metres in area...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Additional School Accommodation building project referred to, has been devolved for delivery to the Galway Roscommon Education Training Board (GRETB). A design team has been appointed to progress the project through the necessary architectural stages of design, statutory approvals, procurement and construction. The project brief approved will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Services (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Approximately €85 million has been allocated for current and capital expenditure to support youth services and young people in Budget 2025, an increase of almost 9% on Budget 2024. €500,000 was secured in capital funding for the youth sector in 2025. This investment will support the launch of ten new UBU Your Place Your Space services, expanding targeted youth work provision...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to achieve their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. It provides a targeted range of supports and is additional to the universal supports provided to all schools, such as free...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority of mine. Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Government is investing a record €11.8 billion into education and schools through Budget 2025. This record level of investment has allowed the Government to invest in tackling educational disadvantage and supporting those with special educational needs to achieve their full potential. It has enabled huge investment in the school buildings programme, in curriculum reform, in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am committed to implementing the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme. As I confirmed in April, May and again last month that implementation will continue with the introduction of the first tranche of new and revised Leaving Certificate subjects from this September. A comprehensive package of supports, including those developed through extensive negotiations with both post-primary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will appreciate that all applications from schools for major capital works must be considered in the context of overall priorities, capital funding, capacity requirements and climate action commitments. My department is required to manage the allocated capital funding across all schools in the country. The department’s approach is to maximise the usage of existing capacity...