Results 41-60 of 16,608 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Early Childhood Care and Education (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department recognises the importance of supporting children and young people’s transitions into and from school settings while ensuring that those students with more complex needs are supported optimally.Currently my department is working in collaboration with the Department of Children Disability and Equality to progress commitments in First Five, a whole of Government Strategy for...

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

Helen McEntee: My Department is dedicated to enhancing the delivery and development of youth work services and opportunities for young people across the Sixteen Education and Training Boards (ETBs), including City of Dublin. In Budget 2025, the City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) received a total allocation of over €20 million, reflecting an increase of €842,698 compared to its...

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

Helen McEntee: The school in question submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for roof works. The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation and, on this basis, the school was advised to submit a revised scope of works with an accompanying itemised cost breakdown. Once this has been received the EWS team will review the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: This Government is committed to ensuring that every child has a positive school experience, with access to qualified and engaged teachers who are dedicated to supporting their learning. Attracting qualified teachers, whether working overseas or not, will support schools to address teacher supply issues. As a result, several measures are already in place to support teachers who either...

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

Helen McEntee: St Thomas JNS & Scoil Áine SNS The joint school building project will deliver two new 24 classroom primary schools with accommodation for children with special educational needs, at the current site in Lucan. The project is currently at an early stage of Architectural Planning Stage 1 – Initial Sketch Scheme. A preferred design option has been agreed by all...

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 in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth, and for the Government. 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...

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

Helen McEntee: The project to which the Deputy refers, was approved funding as a large-scale capital project. It is devolved for delivery to Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB). I am pleased to advise that the project is currently at stage 2b of the architectural design process (developed design). At this stage the design team will obtain the statutory planning approvals, prepare a set...

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

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers to was approved to enter the departments pipeline of school building projects under the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) Scheme to provide a 4 Classroom SEN base and 2 SET classrooms. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority. In March 2025, my department wrote to the school confirming that funding would not be provided...

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

Helen McEntee: Most primary schools are State-aided parish schools, with the local Bishop as school patron. It is recognised, including by the Catholic school patrons, that an educational landscape is needed which more accurately reflects the reality of our increasingly diverse society and meets the expectations parents have for their children. The Programme for Government commits to seeking to...

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

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the departments pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide a 4 classroom SEN Base. The project was devolved to the school for delivery. I can confirm that this project received my departments approval to proceed to Stage 2b (developed design) in July 2024, and my department now awaits a post planning report to include...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Oideachas trí Ghaeilge (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Ba cheart don Teachta  thabhairt faoi deara nach bhfuil i dtéacsleabhair ach ceann amháin den réimse leathan acmhainn agus táirgí oideachais, idir ábhar clóite, digiteach nó ar líne, a úsáidtear i scoileanna. Is é an t-aon riachtanas atá ag mo Roinn, maidir le hacmhainn ar bith a úsáidtear i scoil,...

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 in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth, and for the Government. 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...

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

Helen McEntee: The development of digital skills and literacy must start from a young age. The Department of Education’s response to the provision of digital skills and literacy within early childhood and care and school settings includes: Curriculum at all levels. Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027. STEM Education Policy Statement 2017-2026. Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Abuse (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department takes child protection very seriously and considers that the protection and welfare of children is a fundamental responsibility of all involved in the care and education of children. Since the introduction of a revised primary school curriculum in 1970 and the total prohibition of use of corporal punishment from 1 February 1982, child protection requirements and procedures in...

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

Helen McEntee: - My Department recognises the vitally important role of secretaries and caretakers within school communities, as a key link between students, school leaders and other staff, ensuring that the core needs of the school are met. - Since September 2023 my department has been providing a payroll service for former grant funded school secretaries. This happened on foot of an Agreement reached...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: An Teanga Gaeilge (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Ba mhian liom cur in iúl don Teachta gurb é seo a leanas líon na ndíolúintí ó staidéar na Gaeilge a ceadaíodh ag leibhéal na hiar-bhunscoile le blianta beaga anuas: - Díolúintí ceadaithe ag an iar-bhunleibhéal Rollacháin ag an iar-bhunleibhéal Díolúintí ceadaithe...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Sports Facilities (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to reassure the Deputy that it has always been the intention that the area in question will be available for use by all three schools. Given the nature of the site, a flooding specialist was procured as part of the planning process for this campus project and a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA), Maintenance Plan and Flood Response Plan were provided. The area will be subject to ponding...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language, the Department of Education and Youth is committed to improving the teaching and learning of Irish in primary and post-primary schools. The department invests strongly in Irish and continues to support Irish in a wide range of ways across areas such as Initial Teacher Education, Teacher Professional Learning, Curriculum and Assessment and the...

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 Staff (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 and 150 together. Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority area of action for the Government. There are more qualified teachers than ever working in schools with recent analysis of payroll data showing over 79,000 teachers...