Results 15,641-15,660 of 15,994 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: While there is no scheme available specifically to primary school to support the employment of disabled staff members my Department does provide support to schools to facilitate building works aimed at making the school more accessible via the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS). As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the EWS is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 479 and 480 together. Please find attached requested data for academic years 2023-2024, it being the latest year we have published final enrolment data. ">data for academic years 2023-2024 We expect to publish final data for academic year 2024-2025 shortly and we will revert to the deputy with the data for 2024-2025 when it has been published. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation. The option is open to submit an EWS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools. This involves direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to a NEPS psychologist for responses to queries arising,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I refer to your recent correspondence in relation to the building project for Portmarnock Community School. The major building project for the school referred to is currently at Stage 3, Tender Action & Award. The Department has issued the tender for this project in order to set up a framework of contractors with returns initially due on the 18th of April. Following this, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan (NDP), involving the completion of over 1,375 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Between 2020 and the end of April 2025,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school project to which the Deputy refers, has been devolved to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a programme of school building projects. The brief for this project is to provide a new build 24-classroom primary school with a 2-class SEN base. The project commenced on site in October 2023. Phase 2b of the works reached substantial completion in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered as part of the Department's ADAPT Programme. The Adapt Programme uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of Architectural Planning to Tender and Construction. The brief for this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan (NDP), involving the completion of over 1,375 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Between 2020 and the end of April 2025,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Over 224 million students worldwide were impacted by school closures during the pandemic (UNESCO, 2022). As a result, absenteeism post covid continues to rise, with rates of chronic absenteeism remaining high in primary and post primary schools across Ireland compared to pre-pandemic levels. I have made clear that this is not acceptable and will take a number of actions to tackle this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 494 and 495 together. My Department was successful in 2024 securing circa €86m to fund a pathfinder decarbonisation and retrofit programme for delivery in 2025. The schools which will benefit from the retrofitting funding were selected using data obtained from the pilot phase of the Schools Energy Inventory project. This project covered schools in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy may be aware, I recently announced details in respect of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme (CASWS) 2026 onwards. The purpose of the CASWS is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The CASWS will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school in question was approved funding under the Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme for the provision of 1 Classroom SEN Base. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority. A Stage 3 (tender report) was recently received by my Department which was reviewed from a cost perspective. All projects, including this one, undergo the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The terms and conditions of the Career Break Scheme for teachers are contained in the Department’s Circular Letter 54/2019 (Chapter 7). A Career Break is a period of unpaid special leave for not less than 1 school year. It may be extended on an annual basis provided the total period of the Career Break does not exceed 5 years at any one time, subject to an overall maximum of 10 years...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The major school project referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new school building to accommodate a 600 pupil post primary school plus accommodation for students with special educational needs. This project is being delivered as part of my Departments Design & Build Programme. Planning Permission was granted in May 2024, following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department recognises the vitally important role of Caretakers and Cleaners within school communities, as a key link between students, school leaders and other staff, ensuring that both the caretaking and cleaning needs of the school are met. Without them, our schools would be unsustainable. The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools receive assistance to provide for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the state. It is a function of the Council under the Teaching Council Acts (s7(2)) to act as the competent authority for recognition of qualifications obtained by a person...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy that my department is in receipt of an application for funding from the school in question. This application has been assessed under the department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and special education needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under Project Ireland 2040, a commitment was given that the Minor Works Grant would be paid in either December or January of the school year to all primary schools, including special schools. In recent years, my department’s approach has been to pay the Minor Works Grant to schools in advance of the start of the following school year, in order to facilitate a better lead in period for...