Results 181-200 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

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

Helen McEntee: The Department recognises the vitally important role of Secretaries and Caretakers within school communities, as a key link between students, parents, school leaders and other staff, ensuring that both the administrative and the caretaking needs of the school are met. Without them, our schools would be unsustainable. The Department of Education and Youth is not the direct employer of...

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

Helen McEntee: At present, the primary method of obtaining permanent status for teachers is through the attainment of a Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID). Department Circulars 23/2015 (Primary Sector) and 24/2015 (Post-Primary Sector) set out the criteria for the award of a CID which, in general and subject to other qualifying criteria, requires the teacher to have a period of continuous employment in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (10 Jun 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: Immigration Support Services (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department’s approach is to prioritise integration and inclusion into mainstream education for all children and young people who arrive into the State seeking international protection. In March 2022, in response to the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) were established to support the needs of Ukrainian children arriving in Ireland. These...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Immigration Support Services (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department’s approach is to prioritise integration and inclusion into mainstream education for all children and young people who arrive into the State seeking international protection. The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) is the responsibility of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. To assist students' integration into school life and to...

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

Helen McEntee: The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides psychological support to all primary, post-primary, and special schools. There are currently 234 whole time equivalent psychologists providing a service across the country. NEPS provides access for all schools to: Psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident; A casework service for individual students...

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

Helen McEntee: My Department does not collate information on ties companies may have with specific countries. I can, therefore, confirm to the Deputy that the information in response to his question is not available at this time. The information in respect of aegis bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Contact details for these bodies are set out in the...

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

Helen McEntee: My Department has a very significant capital programme that is providing additional capacity around the country, underpinned by a robust forward planning process. Since 2020, my Department has invested over €5.8 billion in our schools, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. Additionally, my officials work very closely with schools and patrons to ensure that...

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

Helen McEntee: Arising from Budget 2025, €84.9m has been allocated for current and capital expenditure for the benefit of young people, an increase in funding of €7 million, or almost 9%, on the 2024 budget. Over the period from 2021 to 2025, the level of current Exchequer funding for youth services and programmes will have increased by over 34%. Youth funding is administered on behalf of my...

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

Helen McEntee: The School Completion Programme (SCP) is funded by my department via Tulsa Education Support Service (TESS) and is a central element of the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme, a key policy initiative of my department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level, in a targeted and equitable way, across the primary and post-primary sector. TESS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (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...

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

Helen McEntee: I can confirm that my department received an application in 2018 under the Additional Schools' Accommodation (ASA) scheme for funding for the provision of eighteen special education classrooms. In this regard my department approved the provision of modular accommodation of four classrooms for the school in question to cater for their immediate needs. This project is complete. I can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Youth Work Advisory Committee (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will be aware that at present my officials are developing an implementation approach to Opportunities for Youth that takes into account the transfer of youth functions to the Department of Education. Work is already underway in relation to several actions in the strategy for which the Department is the lead. In relation to Action 8, my officials have begun work on a review...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Youth Work Advisory Committee (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 561, 562 and 563 together. Work is underway on the drafting of an implementation plan to support the delivery of actions contained in Opportunities for Youth. The plan will take into account the transfer of youth functions to the Department of Education and Youth on 1 May, 2025. While it is not possible to provide a precise timeline for the development...

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

Helen McEntee: My department recently announced school investment of €65 million to support digital learning and fund minor building works. The funding consists of, €35 million in funding for ICT infrastructure to all recognised special, primary and post-primary schools and close to €30 million in minor works funding to primary and special schools. Both of these grants have now issued...

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

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my department is working with a number of school authorities in relation to the provision of modular accommodation for the upcoming 2025/26 school year. These projects are being worked through currently and the delivery of accommodation for schools is dependent on a number of factors such as the suitability of the site in question, possible planning...

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

Helen McEntee: The large scale capital project for the school referred to by the Deputy is the provision of a new 600 pupil school building including ancillary accommodation. The project was authorised to proceed to tender, upon completion of the prequalification shortlisting process in September 2022. Planning Permission was due to expire in December 2022 and it was anticipated that an application...

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

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 577 and 578 together. Under the Education Act, the Boards of Management of Schools have responsibility for the day to day management of schools. Decisions regarding the use and deployment of digital technology in schools is therefore a matter for the Board of Management of each school in the context of their digital learning planning. Schools are advised...