Results 301-320 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaeltacht Policy (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy that COGG funding in 2025 amounts to €3,418,000.  In addition, the Department has sanctioned the appointment to COGG of an additional two Education Officers in 2025 for work that will be assigned to COGG under the Department’s new Policy for Irish medium education outside of the Gaeltacht.  This funding is estimated at €70,000 in 2025...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaeltacht Policy (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 197 together. The full cost of the Irish-medium teaching and the Gaeltacht teaching allowance for 2024 is €2 million and €1.84 million respectively. This includes the cost for the primary, post primary and ETB sectors in 2024. My department, along with other Departments across the public service, implemented the outcome of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Please find attached requested information. Please note that data provided is for academic year 2023-2024, the latest available year we have final enrolment data for. We expect to publish final data for academic year 2024-2025 in June 2025.  Data is anchored on the census date of 30th September 2023. Please note that the primary standard table includes all mainstream pupils and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaeltacht Policy (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The capitation grant for Gaeltacht summer colleges has not been paid by the Department of Education and Youth since 2008. Funding for the Gaeltacht summer colleges sector is a matter for the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. Based on data provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, approximately 27,500 students attended...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Officials from my Department are aware of the agreement that is in place between the parties operating on this site, that were agreed upon at a local level many years ago. The Department of Education and Youth supports and encourages the use of school buildings for community and recreational purposes, where feasible, including childcare and after school uses. The decision on the use...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (28 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 Textbooks (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 204 and 205 together. The Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families. The Programme for Government acknowledges that education should be inclusive of all students, recognising that particular students may need particular supports. It commits...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My 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 commitment was given that the Minor Works Grant would be paid in either December or January of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department has committed considerable resources towards the restoration of guidance counselling hours to post-primary schools, to the provision of CPD for guidance counsellors and to the provision of a national guidance counselling supervision service for post-primary guidance counsellors in recent times. The guidance allocation is provided separately and transparently on each...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department’s data for schools under the Free Education Scheme 2023-2024 indicates there are 558,143 learners in recognised primary and special schools and 406,392 students in post-primary schools. Based on these preliminary figures, the cost of restoring the school libraries fund by €10 per student in academic year 2024-2025, would be as follows: Number of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 and it's associated implementation plan is underpinned by funding of €200m over the course of the strategy, committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The funding allocation model is provided for in the National Development Plan and commits to funding to issue over the period of the NDP, applied by the Department for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 and it's associated implementation plan is underpinned by funding of €200m over the course of the strategy, committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The funding allocation model is provided for in the National Development Plan and commits to funding to issue over the period of the NDP, applied by the Department for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 217 and 218 together. At primary level, teachers are allocated to schools at an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils, the lowest level ever seen at primary level. DEIS Urban Band 1 schools receive an average allocation of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively.  The current pupil teacher ratio at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Gross expenditure incurred by my Department last year on fee-charging schools was €144.8m.  This includes salaries for teachers and special needs assistants of €142.9m for the 2023/24 school year and capital supports (building-related and ICT grants) of €1.9m in 2024. The allocation of teachers in fee-charging schools is outlined in Circular 0006/2025: Staffing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department has different models of funding to meet the needs of the different types of school. In the ETB sector, financial allocations are made to ETBs as part of a block grant. ETBs are given a high level of autonomy in the management and appropriation of this grant and each is allowed to distribute its allocations in line with its priorities and needs, including to schools under its...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department of Education and Youth’s Circulars 10/2001 for Primary teachers, and 29/2007 and 29/2010 for post-primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC). Unfortunately, the detailed information...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (28 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. 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...