Results 15,361-15,380 of 15,994 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly on this. I do not have a clear answer, but I certainly think we are all keen to build on the progress that has been made. Obviously, this would be part of that.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: We need to be open to anything we can do to support those who have addiction issues but also to prevent young children from going down that path. As the Deputy rightly mentioned, the new Gambling Regulatory Authority was introduced following significant work by our colleague the Minister, Deputy James Browne. It is important that the authority should be open to looking at all forms of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I look forward to attending the opening of Harold's Cross school and, I hope, of many others in the Deputy’s constituency as we work to provide education for our young people. It is really important that we have therapies in our schools. Children spend so much of their time in school, it is important that they have access to therapies while there. The Government's very clear...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Once again, I acknowledge the fundamental work that our paramedics play in keeping people safe. For so many people, they are the first point of contact. They can stabilise people and make sure they get to hospital on time. I acknowledge their role and work in our healthcare system. I do not have the details of the particular case the Deputy mentioned, but I can ask the Minister to look...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge and commend our colleague from Louth for the fantastic result at the weekend in what was a fantastic game.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: If I mentioned other counties, we could be here all day. I acknowledge the importance of the large-scale infrastructure grant and the contribution it has made to sport across our country. There is a very clear commitment in the programme for Government to make sure we continue to invest in smaller scale projects via the sports capital grant. Obviously, any decision on a larger scale would...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: We all agree that our objective, working closely with the HSE and individual hospitals, is to make sure that hospitals have the equipment they need and that patients can access services in their communities as quickly as possible. I will raise the matter with the Minister directly.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The significant investment that has gone into special education in recent years has been with the sole purpose of making sure children have places and that when they are in school, whether it is in special schools, special education classrooms or mainstream classes, they have access to the support that is appropriate to them. That is why we have more than 23,000 SNAs and thousands of new...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge the significant engagement I have had with the Deputy on this. It is a priority for him to make sure that children have access to those special school places. I can confirm that, following agreement by the school to the brief of accommodation in March, my Department is preparing the brief formulation report for the 14 special educational classrooms and ancillary accommodation....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I acknowledge the teachers, the wonderful SNAs and special education teachers and everyone in our schools for the fantastic work they do. While billions of euro has gone into our schools portfolio in recent years, there is obviously more we need to do. I am very aware that there are schools that need replacement buildings and extensions and where further progress needs to be made. I am...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for roof works. The application in question is currently being reviewed by the technical area within the EWS. Once a technical recommendation has been received back from the technical team, the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department’s main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available for the relevant year, the student should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Sign Language (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can inform the Deputy that currently there are four modules on Irish Sign Language (ISL) available as part of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. This course introduces students to ISL and aims to develop their expressive and receptive communication skills and also develops awareness and appreciation of the Irish deaf community and its culture. The Department wishes to build on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department has sourced and procured IT equipment manufactured by, or containing components from, companies on the list the Deputy refers to. This IT equipment includes laptops, desktops, servers and other peripherals manufactured by DELL and Hewlett-Packard, which can contain CPUs and other components made by Intel. In sourcing and procuring equipment from these companies my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. At the outset, I confirm that there are entry routes to primary, post-primary and further education teacher education programmes for persons who are deaf and hard of hearing. Currently there are teachers who are deaf and hard of hearing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Health and Safety (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 88 and 89 together. My Department works together with the Department of Health and other agencies to support students in the area of health. The aim is to equip students with the skills and knowledge to enable them to make the right choices for healthy lifestyles throughout their lives. Schools have a role to play in supporting their students to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing process contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The school referred to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (14 May 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 €335 million in school infrastructure across County Kildare. The Department is continually planning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Meetings (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: All diary requests are considered by my Office in the Department. The team can be reached by the following email address Ministers_Calendar@education.gov.ie and they can liaise with the organisation in question.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (14 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Assistive Technology Scheme, as set out in my Department’s Circular 0010/2013, funding is provided to schools towards the cost of computers and specialist equipment, which are required for educational purposes. All equipment provided under this scheme supports children with more complex disabilities who, in order to access the school curriculum, require essential...