Results 181-200 of 12,815 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: 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. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The payment of teachers on carer's leave is a manual process. The school employer is required to notify the Payroll Section of my Department of the days worked by the teacher while on carer's leave during the payroll period. My Department has implemented a Customer contact form which allows schools to submit the required information through an online form. This allows efficient processing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Communications (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: School secretaries are at the heart of the school and are the key interface between students, parents, school leaders and other staff. Without them, our schools would be unsustainable. In supporting these vital school staff members, we also support the school community as a whole. Since September 2023 my department has been providing a payroll service for former grant funded school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 389 and 390 together. 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 primary staffing arrangements for the 2025/26 school year are set out in Circular 0011/2025. The staffing schedule operates...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (1 Jul 2025)

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

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy, that the decision-making authority for any change of status, including amalgamation, is the patron/trustees of the school 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy, that the decision-making authority for any change of status, including amalgamations, is the patron/trustees of the school 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Costs (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is aware of the issues raised by the Deputy in relation to the school project delivered. Department officials are liaising with the design team to resolve the issues and will be in contact with the school and their patron in due course when the information is available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (1 Jul 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 schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally. The primary school staffing arrangements for the 2025/26 school year are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (1 Jul 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, including over €1.5 billion...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: This project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB). The design team are currently finalising the tender stage. When this stage is concluded, and approved by the department, the project will progress to construction in due course. The current status of all projects is listed on a county by county basis at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The information requested by the Deputy is set out below. St Thomas JNS & Scoil Áine SNS The joint school building project will deliver two new 24 classroom primary schools with accommodation for children with special educational needs, at the current site in Lucan. The project is currently at an early stage of Architectural Planning Stage 1 – Initial Sketch Scheme....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Inspectorate conducts an annual inspection programme that consists of a variety of inspection and advisory models. These range from short, one-day, unannounced inspections (incidental inspections) to longer announced inspections including curriculum evaluations (CE) and whole-school evaluations (WSE). Curriculum evaluations and whole-school evaluations, among others, lead to a published...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Application (1 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school in question submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for external environment works. The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation and, on this basis, the school was advised to submit a revised scope of works with an accompanying itemised cost breakdown. Once this has been received the EWS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Schemes (26 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The organisation in question is an independent voluntary organisation governed by an independent Board. As such, the compensation of abuse survivors or the establishment of a redress scheme are matters for the organisation to determine. It receives some of its funding from the Department of Education and Youth and raises other funding through member subscriptions and fundraising. My...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Inquiries (26 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am glad to inform the Deputy that the pay related matter referred to has been resolved and the teacher concerned can expect payment of arrears with the salary due on the 7th July 2025. The payroll section of my Department can be contacted using the online contact form available on my Department's website at

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (26 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority area of action for the Government. Housing policy is a priority matter for Government, led by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.Housing for All, Ireland's housing plan to 2030, contains a suite of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (26 Jun 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 for the Department of Education. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (26 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Education Act 1998, the legal responsibility for transferring patronage of a school rests with the current school patron in the first instance. A school patron may write to me as Minister for Education and Youth in relation to transfer of patronage of a school under their patronage under Section 8 of the Education Act 1998 and request that the patron register is amended...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (26 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department uses a range of data sources when analysing the demand for school places, including enrolment data, child benefit data, census data, Local Authority population & housing projections and data on residential construction activity. As the Deputy may be aware, the annual enrolment process for new Junior Infants at primary and new First Years at post-primary is a very...