Results 761-780 of 17,382 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Schools referred to by the Deputy were granted capital funding under the Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme, Additional School Accommodation Scheme and National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a programme of school building projects – (Dargle bundle) respectively. The Devolved SEN programme involves the use...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The complete list of all DEIS schools in the state is available at the following link The number of DEIS primary and post-primary schools currently in the State is as follows: DEIS Band No. of Schools 2024/25 DEIS Urban Band 1 306 DEIS Urban Band 2 149 DEIS Rural 506 Total...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department invests over €180 million annually to provide additional supports to almost 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme which supports approximately 260,000 students. The School Completion Programme (SCP) is one of the keys supports under the DEIS programme and comprises of 121 projects nationwide, supporting just under 800 schools, arranged in clusters. Access to the SCP is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1298 and 1299 together. My Department has committed considerable resources towards the restoration of guidance counselling hours to post-primary schools, to the provision of CPD for guidance counsellors and to the provision of a national guidance counselling supervision service for post-primary guidance counsellors in recent times. The guidance...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Officials from my department have clarified with the deputy that he is seeking the cost of providing a Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) coordinator and a School Completion Programme (SCP) worker to a DEIS school. Tusla Education Support Service manage the SCP programme and the HSCL scheme on behalf of my department. Access to the SCP programme and the HSCL scheme is provided to all DEIS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil 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: Special Educational Needs (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools, and the Programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs. The commitment in the Programme for Government builds on the progress which has been made in recent years, including an over €30 million...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, all public bodies have responsibility to eliminate discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment and protect the human rights of staff and service users. This is a legal obligation, called the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, and it is provided for in Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014. Alongside the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department’s procurement practices are designed to adhere to the Office of Government Procurement’s (OGP) “Public Procurement Guidelines for Goods and Services” which contain considerable guidance on the importance of Strategic Procurement which encourages public bodies to take account of Social, Innovation and Environmental Considerations in its procurements....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: [Attachment omitted]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The provision of sports halls is part of the overall School Building Programme. The provision of GP rooms and PE Halls/Sports Gyms, at primary and post primary level respectively, and outdoor hard play areas, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings. Almost 95% of the post primary schools that made 2020 Annual Schools Returns have indicated to the Department that they...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme to provide a two classroom special educational needs base and one special education tuition room. The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority. A Stage 2b architectural report was received by my department and is currently undergoing an intensive review from both a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school building project referred to by the Deputy is included in the Department of Education and Youths’ Construction Programme. The brief for the project is the delivery of a new 1,000 pupil post primary school and accommodation including 6 classrooms for children with special educational needs, as part of a shared educational campus in Whitehall. The project will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (29 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...

Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2025: First Stage (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: No.

Taxes Consolidation (Development of Regional Film Industry) (Amendment) Bill 2025: First Stage (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: No.

Occupying Power (Securities and Handling of Settlement Goods) Bill 2025: First Stage (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: No.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: To the Deputy's final point, my Department is engaging with the schools in the area to make sure that every child has a place. This has to happen in every area, particularly where there is a population increase. We are actively engaged in the area. If there is a need to work more closely with the Tusla education support service for schools, and in particular for students, that will happen....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Information and Communications Technology (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I will give an example. For a 100-pupil primary school, €4,533 is allocated. For a 500-pupil school, the amount is €14,665. For a post-primary, there is a basic grant of €2,000 plus €30.40 per mainstream student. It is not the intention that schools will be buying iPads every year or that every student will need to use them at every stage of the school day. It...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Information and Communications Technology (17 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: We have dedicated support and funding for schools, with a commitment for €200 million over the lifetime of the strategy. Through the NDP and the next strategy, we will commit even more funding. Some €325 million has been invested specifically to provide technology in our schools, recognising that is how things are going and that technology is a really positive part of how...