Results 441-460 of 15,028 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (25 Mar 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: School Equipment (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, €9 million has been allocated in Budget 2025 to support post-primary schools to implement a restriction on the use of mobile phones during the school day, through the purchase of pouches or other secure storage solutions. This initiative is intended to support the wellbeing of school students and improve learning outcomes. It is part of a suite of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, €9 million has been allocated in Budget 2025 to support post-primary schools to implement a restriction on the use of mobile phones during the school day, through the purchase of pouches or other secure storage solutions. This initiative is intended to support the wellbeing of school students and improve learning outcomes. It is part of a suite of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers was granted capital funding for the provision of two Special Educational Needs Classrooms (SEN), under the Department’s SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. The programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (25 Mar 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 daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The criteria required to have incremental credit awarded to qualified Special Needs Assistants (SNA) is set out in Circular 0139/2006 and was agreed with the unions representing the Special Needs Assistants, School Management Representatives, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Department of Education. Circular 139/2006 provides for the recognition of prior relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.8 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in the coming months, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 600,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school buildings for a project under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme to provide a six classroom SEN base. The project was devolved to the school authority for delivery. A Stage 2b architectural report has been received by my Department in December 2024. The project remains...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Social Media (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: Social media platforms play a key role in how the Department of Education communicate with the public, allowing us to share timely and accurate information at both local and national levels. Many of our stakeholders rely on these platforms as a trusted source, helping us to share important information, counter misinformation and ensure transparency. In 2024 the department created and shared...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (25 Mar 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 Curriculum (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 405, 407 and 408 together. Transition Year is a valuable programme for students that offers opportunities for life skills, personal, social and academic development and experience of adult and working life. As Minister for Education I am committed to expanding access to Transition Year as part of the ongoing redevelopment of Senior Cycle, so that in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 406, 409 and 410 together. The circumstances under which a student may repeat a year at Post Primary level are set out in Department of Education Circular M02/95. A copy of this circular is available at: circulars.gov.ie/pdf/circular/education/1995/M02.pdf Under this Circular, school management have delegated authority, within defined limits, to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pensions (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: 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 provided for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department has not requested admissions data for the named school so this data is unavailable at this time. Enrolment data for this school from 2019 to 2023, 2023 being the latest year we have final enrolment data, are set out at the link below. We expect to publish final enrolments data for academic year 2024-2025 in June 2025 at: www.gov.ie/en/collection/post-primary-schools/

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides psychological support to all primary, post-primary, and special schools. The service is divided into six geographical regions and Dublin South Central is part of Region 3. There are currently 235 whole time equivalent psychologists providing a service across the country. 43 psychologists are currently employed in Region 3. NEPS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 416 to 418, inclusive, together. The Transition Year Grant is paid to non-fee charging voluntary secondary schools, community and comprehensive schools and schools in the ETB sector in addition to capitation payments. The Transition Year Grant is paid on a per capita basis – therefore it increases or decreases in line with the number of actual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Safety (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998 the board of management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school and the principal is responsible for the day-to-day management of a school. The Board has overall responsibility for school policies including any policy in relation to school trips/outings. Under the Children First Act 2015, all schools in Ireland must...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (25 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: My 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 Transport (25 Mar 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...