Results 281-300 of 16,182 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early School Leavers (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I fully agree. Our youth services have such an important role to play in supporting those who are most at risk and in dealing with issues of attendance and providing that support outside of school hours. When we talk about formal education, our youth services are the informal side of that in so many instances. That is why I welcome that the area of youth has now come into the same...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early School Leavers (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: In a lot of instances in the past, what happened with funding being provided was that we focused on specific projects because there had been specific needs in areas, whether they were related to drug abuse, crime, mental health or various different challenges that young people identified. What I want to ensure is that we are looking at the geographical spread. We know young people in rural...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Accommodation (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: If anything needs to be clarified with the school, we will make sure that is the case and where work needs to be done, we will ensure this is made clear to the school. What is happening now is that the assessment is taking place, but this is something that will have to be looked at as part of the 2026-2030 overall budget. We do not have that absolute figure at the moment, so my Department...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Accommodation (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: It has taken place-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Accommodation (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Yes.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Accommodation (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Looking at the budget we have, my priority is to do several things. First and foremost, it is to ensure we have the capacity for students starting school in September this year and beyond and that we are forward planning. We still have a growing school population. While we know it is levelling out, in primary school numbers, and particularly in certain areas in Dublin, these numbers are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education Schemes (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Tackling educational disadvantage and, in particular, supporting students who are most at risk or in need of support to achieve their full potential is a priority for me, for the Minister of State and for this Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of the Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education Schemes (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy and appreciate the example she outlined. I know in some situations there may be two schools next to each other where one is included in DEIS and the other is not. Siblings from the same household might even be going to both schools. Because of the way the DEIS programme is applied now, it is based on the population in the school and it is possible to have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Accommodation (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am aware that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding under the additional school accommodation scheme from the school in question. The school applied in late 2024 for the additional school accommodation and for prefabs to be replaced. This is currently being assessed under the ASA scheme. This application seeks the replacement of accommodation that is 50 years...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: At the outset, I acknowledge the recent school visit. I was invited by the Deputy as well as Deputy Ó Muirí and others. It was important for me to visit the school. I have heard from the Deputies so often of the challenges the school faces but, in particular, how wonderful the school is. It was wonderful to meet with an príomhoide, Eimer Nic an Rí, agus all the staff...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: We have set out the timeline. As of yesterday, there is nothing to suggest there are any issues with the work under way between the design team, the school and my Department, which means, I believe, that come September, we will be able to issue the tender. From speaking to some of the teachers when I visited the school a few weeks ago, I know that is the biggest concern. They have got to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: As I said, €405 million has been invested in Irish-medium schools in the past four years alone. It means there are now 248 Gaelscoileanna and 50 Gaelcholáistí across the country. I want to see that increase. Work is currently under way in my Department to develop a new policy on Irish-medium education. This is outside of the Gaeltachtaí. A policy for the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The significant body of work being done with the inclusion of the TUI, the ASTI and all the representative groups is to make sure we produce the best leaving certificate possible to support students in the best way. We are not introducing 100% additional assessment components. There will still be, for the vast majority, 60% of an exam, which is still stressful enough but obviously it is not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: No, I do not. The Deputy said himself that teachers want leaving certificate reform. It is something they agree with. I point to the fact 73% of TUI members voted in favour of the measures. The ASTI and the TUI engaged very positively with my Department on this package of measures and asked for much of what is in this document. The vote was not on whether they support leaving certificate...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Is the Deputy willing to stand over the current situation? It is already the case that students with more money can access grinds and better supports. What we are doing is actually making it fairer. I had a group meeting recently with people from across different divides, including a woman who works in Maynooth University and comes from a very difficult background where she was not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am saying we need to support teachers to embrace AI and we need to make sure they can deal with challenges when they arise. There is more work to do; I appreciate that.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Information is being provided and more work is being done. An AI committee will be set up and teachers will be part of it. It is very important we get this right. AI is here to stay and we need to make sure we benefit from it.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: As has just been discussed, senior cycle redevelopment is about recognising and meeting the promise of education and enabling students to navigate the dynamic and ever-changing world around them by helping them to develop their talents, skills and understanding. Every child is different and has different abilities and, by bringing in these additional assessment components, we will make sure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: As to the Deputy’s first point, I refer to the former Minister, Ruairí Quinn, who introduced junior cycle reform in the face of challenges. That work was followed up on by another former Minister, Jan O’Sullivan. Very soon after that, in 2016, leaving certificate reform started. This is not accelerated. It takes time and will be done on a phased basis. On the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I have been meeting with the NCSE to make sure we are on top of the figures and understand where we are. As of yesterday, more than 92% of children have been allocated places or are in the process of that happening. Outside of Dublin, where there are still places to be allocated, there are pathways for every child. For example, in our county of...