Results 181-200 of 17,498 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2026 (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: The €95 million carryover referenced in the Budget 2026 Expenditure Report, under the section Reconciliation of 2026 Expenditure Ceiling, relates to measures introduced in Budget 2025 that commence in 2025 and extend into the following year. Specifically, certain measures in Budget 2025 are aligned with the school calendar year, meaning Budget 2025 funding is allocated for the school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Budget 2026 (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy that Budget 2026 provides an increase of €845 million in current funding to my Department's Vote, in addition to an overall €1.6 billion in capital funding, which was previously secured. This brings the overall allocation for my Department in 2026 to €13.1 Billion. The additional funding builds on significant increases in recent budgets and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Services (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am pleased to announce that, arising from Budget 2026, an additional €8 million in current and capital funding has been allocated to support the sustainability and development of youth services. This investment strengthens the foundation for inclusive, high-quality provision — ensuring continuity, expanding reach, and enabling services to respond to the evolving needs of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Historical Sexual Abuse (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: The establishment of a Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools was approved by Government on 8 July 2025. The Commission will examine the handling of allegations, suspicions and concerns of historical sexual abuse in primary and post-primary schools, as recommended by the recent Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 525, 526 and 527 together. The restriction on the use of mobile phones during the school day is intended to address growing concerns including the potential for distraction during class time, the risk of accessing inappropriate content and cyberbullying, and the potential for decreased social interaction with peers. To support schools to implement this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: The large scale capital project at the school referred to by the Deputy is at Architectural Planning Stage 4 – Construction. The project brief for the Major Project at Holy Family Community School includes the Demolition of the existing school and the phased construction of a three storey 1,000 pupil Community School with Special Education Needs Unit and PE Hall. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Oideachas Gaeltachta (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 530, 531 and 532 together. My Department does not gather or retain data that would facilitate the requested comparisons. Crude comparisons of academic performance alone can be very misleading for students, teachers, parents and communities. Such comparisons are likely to provide an unbalanced and limited indication of a cohort’s overall performance....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 533, 534 and 535 together. With effect from 2017, as part of the Framework for Junior Cycle, Junior Cycle provision for Irish in post-primary schools and settings comprises two different curriculum specifications with corresponding different sets of assessments. The T1 (Teanga 1) specification is targeted at students in Irish-medium schools and students in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (14 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. In addition, over 200 SEN Repurposing projects have been delivered maximising the use of existing accommodation while creating opportunities for inclusion and integration. My department...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Budgets (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Government is committed to ensuring every child has a positive school experience, supported by qualified and dedicated teachers.  Like many sectors, recruitment challenges exist in the education sector. The number of teachers is at a record high, with over 79,000 currently employed. Teaching posts have grown by over 10,400 in the past five years, outpacing student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to aim to reduce the general pupil teacher ratio at primary level to 19:1 over the term of government and introduce targeted measures in schools with very large classes. The Government remains committed to reducing class sizes and will consider how best to achieve this in the context of the annual budgetary process. The primary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: As outlined to the Deputy in my previous response to Parliamentary Question No. 436, it falls to HEIs as autonomous bodies to consider their expansion of their Initial Teacher Education provision. As such, HEIs who are part of a of university-led centres of teacher education excellence and who are not currently offering a Professional Masters in Education (PME) programme are not precluded...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: Information in relation to consultancy expenditure in my Department is compiled annually in respect of the previous year and published online at https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/department-of-educa tion-and-skills-expenditure-on-consultancy/  The data in respect of 2025 is being compiled at present and will be published online as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (9 Oct 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: Departmental Funding (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy may be aware, 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. An...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: The project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to Donegal Education and Training Board (DLETB).   The brief for this project is to provide a three-school campus consisting of an eight-mainstream classroom and two special education classrooms for Gaelscoil Bhun Crannach, two post primary schools (Crana College and Coláiste Eoghain) to accommodate a long-term projected...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: The development of the shared education campus at the site referred to by the deputy consists of an 8-classroom primary school with accommodation for pupils with special educational needs, as well as a new school building to cater for two post-primary schools to accommodate approximately 800 pupils, also with accommodation for students with special educational needs. Significant PE...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Equipment (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: The number of lost or stolen devices in my Department from 2020 to the 7th of October 2025 is set out in the table below.  Year Lost/Stolen Devices Risk 2020 1 No risk 2021 4 No risk 2022 6 4 low risk, 2 no risk. 2023 9 2 low risk, 7 no risk....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: There are no recorded instances of software or IT systems procured by my department subsequently being deemed unfit for purpose, and therefore no associated replacement or remediation costs. The information in respect of state 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 attached document, should...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (9 Oct 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department and its support services continue to work to support all schools and teachers to deliver the full breadth and balance of the curriculum. Physical Education is a core part of the curriculum at primary level which seeks to satisfy the physical needs of the child through a consistent and comprehensive experience of movement and play that challenges the child to realise his or her...