Results 15,861-15,880 of 15,994 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (12 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. Since 2020, the total capital invested...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department recognises the vitally important role of Caretakers within school communities, as a key link between students, school leaders and other staff, ensuring that both the core needs of the school are met. Without them, our schools would be unsustainable. Where a school employs a staff member to support those functions those staff are not public servants but employees of individual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The major building project for the schools referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 1,000 pupil post primary school with accommodation and 6 classrooms for children with special educational needs and a new 8 classroom primary school with accommodation and 2 classrooms for children with special educational needs at Ballincollig, which will be delivered as part of a shared educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government committed to holding a convention bringing together all stakeholders in education. At the teacher conferences last Easter I announced that I intend to commence the first stages of the Convention on Education process later this year. I am currently working with my officials to set out a plan and vision for the Convention. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: This joint school building project for the projects referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new extension and refurbishment of some existing accommodation to provide a 24 classroom primary school with classrooms for children with special educational needs, at both schools. The schedule of accommodation was recently increased to include SEN accommodation and the design options submitted by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The programme for Government commits to ‘expand the provision of after-school and childcare in school buildings and campuses, in tandem with the school building programme, to provide better access for parents and communities. My Department supports and encourages the use of school buildings for community and recreational purposes, where feasible, including the provision of early...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy that the decision-making authority for any change of status is the patron/trustees of the schools concerned and it is open to any patron to submit proposals to the Department for consideration. Any proposed change involves extensive consultation at local level and must be well planned and managed in a manner that accommodates the interests of students, parents,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The shared educational campus referred to by the Deputy was completed in Q4 2023 and delivered a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school and two 24 classroom primary schools and accommodation, including 14 classrooms across the three projects, for children with special education needs. The campus project also delivered 3 GP areas, a PE Hall in the post-primary school and 13 ballcourts in total. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Class sizes in schools are affected by a variety of factors including enrolment fluctuations and accommodation available. Schools are best placed to determine the appropriate numbers in any class and so the configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. The Department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department recognises the vitally important role of school secretaries and ancillary staff within school communities, as a key link between students, school leaders and other staff, ensuring that the core needs of the school are met. Without them, our schools would be unsustainable. Since September 2023 my department has been providing a payroll service for former grant funded school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I recognise the key role school leadership in improving educational outcomes by creating a positive school climate and environment as well as motivating and empowering educators and learners within their school communities. Recent improvements in relation to school management and leadership structures include: all primary schools with a teaching principal have a minimum of 37 Principal...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy that my department has a robust forward planning process. The requirement for school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy that it is an absolute priority that every child in the State has access to a school place and the Department of Education and Youth are continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools to ensure that this is the case. Since 2020, my Department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (12 Jun 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 (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy that my department is in receipt of an application for additional school accommodation (ASA) from the school in question. 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 enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school's existing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the deputy refers has been granted capital funding under my Department’s SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme for the provision of two mainstream classrooms, two special education classrooms and roof repairs. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy it is an absolute priority that every child in the State has access to a school place and the Department of Education and Youth are continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools to ensure that this is the case. Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Investment and expenditure on sports facilities in primary and post-primary schools is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the School Building Programme. The provision of outdoor play areas form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. Practically all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (12 Jun 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. At primary level, teachers are allocated to schools at an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils, the lowest level ever seen at primary level. DEIS Urban Band 1 schools receive an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved for delivery to Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB). The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural planning process. This stage involves obtaining all statutory approvals, preparing a set of fully detailed Tender documents, and preparing an accurate pre-tender cost plan. My Department manages the...