Results 2,001-2,020 of 17,498 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (21 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the Department's pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide 4 general classrooms, 1 construction room and a 2 classroom Special Educational Needs (SEN) base. In November 2023 a further two classrooms were added to this base bringing it up to a 4 classroom SEN base. The project is devolved for delivery to the school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (21 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for toilet facilities works. The application in question is currently being reviewed by the technical area within the EWS. Once a technical recommendation has been received back from the technical team, the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (21 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Budget 2025 provides for an unprecedented €11.8 billion investment in education and schools, an increase of some 9 per cent on the same figure in Budget 2024. Currently there are almost 88,000 teaching posts allocated across the primary and post-primary school system. This represents an increase of over 10,000 teachers when compared with the 2019/20 school year. The key factor...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (21 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB). The design team to deliver the project was appointed by KWETB in May 2024 and they are currently finalising the Stage 1 report (preliminary design) for submission to the Department for review. Once the Stage 1 report has been received, reviewed, and approved...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (21 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The minor works grant and ICT grant form part of a range of grants and supports provided to schools. The Department recognises the importance of the Minor Works Grant to primary schools. The minor works grant is provided to all primary and special schools to enable them undertake small-scale minor maintenance and improvement works on a devolved basis. Under Project Ireland 2040, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (21 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school secretary is at the heart of the school and is 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. The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools traditionally received assistance to provide for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Legislative Process (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: It is my intention to progress the passage of the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024 in the coming weeks so that the supports concerned can be made available to survivors as quickly as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Commissions of Investigation (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders recommended the establishment of a Commission of Investigation as its principal recommendation and this has been accepted by Government. The Report of the Scoping Inquiry made a number of further recommendations and a high level Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) was convened to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I would like to thank Deputy Connolly for his question regarding my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). NEPS provides educational psychological support to all primary, post-primary, and special schools. The NEPS service provides access for all schools to:psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident,a casework service for individual children...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy may be aware, my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools can have an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy may be aware, the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA) is provided by the Department to assist in the delivery of a psychological service to all schools. The scheme provides funding to schools to commission individual psychological assessments for students from psychologists working in a private capacity. The costs are met by the Department. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department's Building Regulations offer clear guidance on the provision of accessible facilities. This guidance stipulates that where sanitary facilities are provided, they should either be universally accessible or, alternatively, specific universally accessible facilities must also be included. The relevant guidance document, Technical Guidance Document (TGD) Part M, was introduced in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (20 May 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. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Mental Health Policy (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department of Education’s approach to supporting wellbeing and mental health is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice. This approach is founded on research and best international practice in relation to how schools can best support the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. The approach proposed is a whole school and preventative...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is committed to supporting the emotional wellbeing of all children including those who may have experienced trauma. A dedicated wellbeing portal can be accessed via ‘Wellbeing in Education’ on Gov.ie, bringing together all the wellbeing and mental health supports and resources that have been developed by the Department and the Department’s support...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I know that teachers experience challenges that were not so acute for previous generations, including casualisation within the teaching profession. That is why I have announced that to help teachers to gain permanent roles more quickly, we will develop a new agreement which will see teachers who have taught for one year and successfully interview for a viable post in that school the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1350 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy that my department currently does not have a prefab replacement programme in place for primary schools and as such no waiting list exists. My department is taking an integrated approach through the replacement of prefabs as part of large-scale and devolved projects or as part of new projects approved under the Additional Accommodation Scheme. This integrated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The 2015 Framework for Junior Cycle aims to support the provision of quality, inclusive and relevant education which meets the needs of Junior Cycle students, now and in the future. Programme design is guided by eight underpinning principles, twenty-four statements of learning and the eight key skills of Junior Cycle. Digital literacy features across the Framework and is evident in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (20 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: 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 to consult with members of the school community including...