Results 501-520 of 15,028 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (19 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: Commissions of Investigation (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 583 and 617 together. The Government has accepted the recommendation to establish a Commission of Investigation which is the principal recommendation of the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders. The Report of the Scoping Inquiry made a number of further recommendations and a high...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (19 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 Transport (19 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: Schools Amalgamation (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy, that the decision-making authority for any amalgamation is the patron/trustees of the schools concerned and it is open to any patron to submit proposals to the Department for consideration. Any proposed change involves extensive consultation at local level and must be well planned and managed in a manner that accommodates the interests of students, parents,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential. This includes ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs. The school referred to by the Deputy is part of the Pilot Schools Public Private Partnership (PPP) Bundle. This contract is being delivered...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter the department’s pipeline for a project under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme to provide 9 General Classrooms, 2 SET rooms, 2 Science labs, 1 Science Prep area, 1 Art room and 1 Home Economics room. The project has been devolved to the school authority for delivery. A Stage 2B (pre-tender) report was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: Insofar as existing schools are concerned the main funding pathways for external environment projects such as the one referenced by the Deputy are via either the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) or the Summer Works Scheme (SWS). Firstly, in respect of the SWS, as the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is to enable individual school authorities to undertake...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: All newly appointed civil servants recruited by my Department via publicjobs are vetted by that organisation prior to their assignment to the Department. Officers recruited via the Department's own recruitment license and Ministerial appointees are vetted by the Department directly. In addition, the Department undertakes vetting under the Children and Vulnerable Persons Acts 2012 to 2016 in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (19 Mar 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. In order to plan for school place needs the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The position is that staff absent on certified leave (which includes Assault Leave) must obtain a standard medical certificate from their doctor for school records. The staff member must also ensure that the school receives the medical certificates and enters the absences in a timely manner through the On-Line Claims System (OLCS). Failure of schools to input leave in a timely fashion can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I would like to thank Deputy Carthy for his question regarding access to the Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). I have made enquiries in relation to the pupil referred to and I understand that the pupil has been prioritised for referral to NEPS and the process will commence this term.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (19 Mar 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. In order to plan for school place needs the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Welfare Service (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 601 and 602 together. As both questions from the Deputy are in relation to a similar topic related to Section 29 appeals, I will combine the two questions and issue one reply that addresses both questions. Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 as amended by Section 7 of the Education (Admissions to schools) Act 2018 provides for an appeal, where a board...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Welfare Service (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: In line with the arrangements set out as part of the current Government formation, since January 2021 Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is under the remit of my Department. TESS has three strands namely the statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS) and the two school support services, the Home School Community Liaison Scheme and the School Completion Programme. The three TESS strands...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred by the Deputy has been approved to enter the Department's pipeline for school building projects, specifically to provide one mainstream classroom and two Special Education Teaching (SET) rooms under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme 2021. In 2022, the project scope was expanded to increase the project to two mainstream classrooms, two SET rooms, and a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The programme for Government commits to ‘expand the provision of after-school and childcare in school buildings and campuses, in tandem with the school building programme, to provide better access for parents and communities. My Department supports and encourages the use of school buildings for community and recreational purposes, where feasible, including the provision of early...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter the department’s pipeline for a project under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The project will provide nine general classrooms, five SET Rooms, one graphics room, one music room, one textiles room and a 2 classroom special educational needs (SEN) base as well as demolition of existing prefab block. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The programme for Government commits to expand the provision of after-school and childcare in school buildings and campuses, in tandem with the school building programme, to provide better access for parents and communities. My Department supports and encourages the use of school buildings for community and recreational purposes, where feasible, including the provision of early learning and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The modular accommodation project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver 2 classrooms for children with special educational needs, for the 2025/26 school year on a temporary school site. It is envisaged that further mainstream classroom modular accommodation will need to be provided on the temporary school site pending delivery of the permanent school building project. ...