Results 361-380 of 15,342 for speaker:Helen McEntee

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

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved a SEN reconfiguration, 1 modular mainstream classroom, 1 modular SET room and 1 modular Art room under the SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme 2024. This work is being delivered under the services of KSN project managers. The brief agreed by the school authority and currently being delivered is for the reconfiguration...

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

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved a SEN reconfiguration, 1 modular mainstream classroom, 1 modular SET room and 1 modular Art room under the SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme 2024. This work is being delivered under the services of KSN project managers. The brief agreed by the school authority and currently being delivered is for the reconfiguration...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pensions (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: As you are aware, the Department of Education has been providing a payroll service for former grant funded school secretaries with effect from 1st September 2023. The provision of this payroll service is part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries, following a series of engagements at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in 2022. The agreement...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: As Minister for Education, I want to ensure that all children and young people have the opportunity of access to education that empowers them to thrive and realise their full potential. On 5th February I announced details of the final phase of the free schoolbooks scheme with the extension of the scheme to Senior Cycle, including Transition Year, students in post-primary schools in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Financial Services (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Schools are autonomous entities, managed by their own boards of management. Schools in financial difficulty are encouraged to contact my Department for assistance. The FSSU is a source of financial advice and support to schools, and schools that are referred to the FSSU by my Department receive appropriate assistance and guidance from that unit. The Department is in regular contact with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. this figure includes over...

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

Helen McEntee: The permanent school building project for the school referred to by the Deputy, when complete, will provide a new 16 classroom primary school and accommodation including 4 classrooms for children with special education needs, on the permanent site for the school. The planning application was submitted to the local authority in December 2023. A Request for Further Information (RFI) was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Apr 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 process contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The school referred to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Apr 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. Requirement for school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments...

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

Helen McEntee: Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil their full potential in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education, and for the Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. It provides a targeted range of supports and is additional to the universal supports provided to all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (10 Apr 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. Requirement for school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The 2024-27 Data Strategy of the Department of Education focuses particularly on data governance, data culture and literacy, data quality and data use, aiming to build strong data foundations across the department. Leveraging advances in technology, such as AI and advanced analytics, relies primarily on having processes in place to manage data quality. Among the high-level actions outlined in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department of Education has no projects underway with CeADAR.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The information in respect of aegis bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Aegis bodies have been provided with the question and have been advised to respond directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department continues to review and follow guidance issued by the National Cyber Security Centre, Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, and the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform on the use of Artificial Intelligence. The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 and its associated Implementation Plan set out the Departments policy on embedding the use of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department has not offered AI Training to staff working in the Department, as AI is not utilised to perform their duty. Officials in my Department are preparing a course on AI that will be made available to all staff once complete. My Department continues to review and follow guidance issued by the National Cyber Security Centre, Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Minister’s Office does not have a record of the number of physical letters received. The total number of emails received into the Minister for Education’s Office in 2024 was 48,496. This includes both emails, and physical letters. Please note that this figure also includes internal emails to the Minister’s mailbox, and we do not have an exact figure for letters/emails...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The total number of emails received into the Minister for Education’s Office in 2024 was 48,496. This number includes both emails and physical letters. Please note that this figure also includes internal emails to the Minister’s mailbox, and we do not have an exact figure for letters/emails received from the public. The Customer service mailbox for the Department received...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Surveys (10 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: As outlined in the Department of Education’s Statement of Strategy, 2023- 25: www.gov.ie/en/publication/d7691-department-of-education-stat ement-of-strategy-2023-2025/, my Department is committed to achieving and developing Organisational Excellence and Innovation. While no specific surveys have been carried out to estimate the amount of time taken up with administrative tasks and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Tionscadail Tógála Scoileanna (9 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 94 together. Níl an fhaisnéis a iarrann an Teachta ar fáil go héasca. Tiomsófar an t-eolas atá á lorg agus cuirfear ar aghaidh go díreach chuig an Teachta í nuair a bheidh sé ar fáil.