Results 14,161-14,180 of 15,969 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Thankfully, we have a growing young population and it is important that our investment in our young people and education grows with us. That is why we have seen the capital budget increase and have the highest overall education budget. That has allowed us to make the progress I referenced when it comes to reducing pupil-teacher ratios and increasing the number of teachers. In 2016, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I know how important it is for a young teacher to be able to get a permanent contract. It has implications in terms of looking for a mortgage and buying a home or car. It is absolutely vital that teachers can get a permanent contract. I have spoken to the TUI about that this week. I want to make sure that we do everything possible as I develop a new workforce plan to support the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for his question. assure him tackling educational disadvantage and supporting children to fulfil their potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and youth. As the Deputy will know, the DEIS programme is a really positive key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. There has been a massive investment in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I want to ensure every young person gets the support they need, particularly those who need additional support, be it through the DEIS programme, DEIS plus or any other way because we know it works. The gap in retention rates between DEIS and non-DEIS schools have halved from 16.8% to 8.4% since the programme began. We know that focus and targeted intervention works. It is about how we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: There are a number of important strands here in making sure we get the best outcomes for young people with the home school liaison officers and ensuring we have counselling in primary schools. There is an important pilot scheme that has been extended to 61 urban DEIS primary schools in Tallaght, Clondalkin, Ballymun, Finglas and Darndale. I want to see that further expanded. There have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: As someone who attended a small school where we only had three classrooms, I cannot stress the benefit and need for us to prioritise supporting our small schools and doing everything we can to retain them. What we have provided in the programme for Government is a very clear commitment to provide measures to support small schools, including introducing a new national small schools project...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Education Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I highlight the positive benefits we have seen so far in the clusters that have been developed. First, they help to reduce the sense of isolation among school staff, particularly in rural areas and where there is a small number of staff. The Department has combined teacher allocation hours with part-time hours, where feasible, to create full-time posts and make it easier for those schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (25 Feb 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 for the Department of Education. Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.7 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: In relation to the first school referred to by the Deputy, I can confirm that the department received an application under the Additional Schools' Accommodation (ASA) scheme for funding for the provision of eighteen special education classrooms. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is liaising directly with the patron of the school in question relating to the matters referred to by the Deputy. A new school building is being provided as part of a two phased development on a Department owned site for the post primary school in question. The school has already occupied the element constructed in phase one and phase two is due to be completed shortly. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: This Government is fully 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. This remains a top priority. My Department regularly consults with key stakeholders to address critical issues like teacher supply. Further measures to strengthen the teaching workforce are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department has not been notified of any school using capitation grant funding to hire private therapists for children in their school. The Educational Therapy Support Service (ETSS) was established in June 2024 within the NCSE and will comprise 39 therapists, initially. The ETSS provides 2 strands of support. Strand I involves Regional Therapy Support and includes Teacher...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The furniture and equipment (F&E) area within my Department deals with the provision of furniture and equipment across a number of different streams including the replacement of specialist F&E, to which the issue the deputy has raised refers. As part of the planning for the provision of F&E generally, there has to be a balance between the volume of demand, and the ability of my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher. The minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm that officials from my Department have made contact directly with the Deputy and the officials have provided details of the necessary steps required in relation to the query.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.7 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,150 school building projects.? Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in the coming months, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 550,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: There is a curricular subject requirement for registration under ‘Route 2: Post-primary’ which falls under the Teaching Council’s statutory functions set out in Section 31(5) of the Teaching Council Act 2001 and Route 2 of the Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2016: ‘A person who applies to be entered on the register on the basis of qualifications as a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (25 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Teaching Council is the regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland. Their role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching. They do this through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession, whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct. All initial teacher...