Results 201-220 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

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

Helen McEntee: My Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications have developed a jointly funded school sector decarbonisation pathfinder programme. It is administered by the Planning and Building Unit in my Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in partnership with devolved delivery support from Limerick and Clare Education Training Board, and Longford and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 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. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally. The school referred to by the Deputy is due to have two teaching posts...

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

Helen McEntee: The case referenced by the Deputy has been lodged as an appeal by the teacher to the relevant unit in the Department as provided for under Circular 0030/2018 titled Adjudication Process – Contracts of Indefinite Duration. In accordance with this circular, the appeal is currently under review and will be referred to the independent Adjudicator appointed to review appeals cases. The...

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

Helen McEntee: The information requested is not collected by my Department. Neither my Department nor the State Examinations Commission (SEC) has any role in relation to the setting, running, funding or marking of mock examinations. Decisions to hold mock examinations are taken by individual schools. The format of these examinations varies from school to school and not all schools run mock examinations.

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

Helen McEntee: School secretaries are valued members of our school communities and my Department is fully aware and appreciative of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools. My Department is providing a payroll service for school secretaries with effect from the 1st September 2023. The provision of a payroll service is part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade...

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

Helen McEntee: Please find attached requested data, which is for academic year 2023-2024 the last year we have final published data and we expect to publish final data for academic year 2024-2025 shortly. 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...

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

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot comment on individual or specific cases referred to in her question, some of which are the subject of potential litigation. However, I can advise the Deputy that a range of measures have been put in place to implement the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgement in O’Keeffe v Ireland. These include significant reforms of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Project referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the department’s pipeline of school buildings to provide one mainstream classroom, two SET rooms and a two classroom SEN base under the department‘s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. I can confirm that in January 2025 this project received my department’s approval to proceed to planning and my...

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

Helen McEntee: Tusla Education Support Service which includes the statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS), is under the remit of my department since 2021. The primary role of the EWS is to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a certain minimum education; to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education. Educational Welfare Officers (EWO) are...

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

Helen McEntee: My department is currently engaging directly with the principal of the school referred to by the Deputy regarding the school's accommodation. My department is aware of the school's accommodation needs and the intention is to undertake remedial works to the school building, in consultation with the principal, as quickly as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (10 Jun 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 Staff (10 Jun 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: School Accommodation (10 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 6 x mainstream classrooms, 9 x special education tuition rooms (SET) and 4 x special education needs classrooms (SEN). This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the...

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

Helen McEntee: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 8 classroom primary school with accommodation and 2 classrooms for children with special educational needs at Fosterstown, Swords. It is intended that the project will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT Programme which uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the...

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 Facilities (10 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to confirm that the period referred to by the Deputy is for a 44-week term from September 2024, according to the current license agreement. My department provides funding to the school in question for the rental payment. My department understands that arrangements are in train in relation to the preparation of a new license agreement.

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

Helen McEntee: School secretaries are valued members of our school communities and my Department is fully aware and appreciative of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools. My Department is providing a payroll service for school secretaries with effect from the 1st September 2023. The provision of a payroll service is part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade...

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

Helen McEntee: My Department has engaged with Kerry Education Training Board (KETB) to ensure no disruption to the services for the pupils of a school in Co. Kerry who have been significantly impacted by the damage to the building referred to by the Deputy. My Department has approved funding for transport and the use of an alternative building for Physical Education (PE) for the second term of the...

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

Helen McEntee: My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools. This involves direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to a NEPS psychologist for responses to queries arising,...