Results 41-60 of 15,342 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (7 May 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: School Staff (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: There are a number of employment arrangements in place for school secretaries, including:-secretaries who were employed under a limited scheme introduced by the government of the time in 1978/1979, which was discontinued in 1985;secretaries employed in Community and Comprehensive Schools;secretaries employed in ETB schools whose terms and conditions are governed by the appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy that Say Yes to Languages is a ten week module for 3rd to 6th class students in primary schools. The programme aims to increase language awareness and the use of languages and to encourage students to take up a foreign language at post primary level in line with Languages Connect, Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017 - 2026. The programme...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Administration (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Education Act, 1998, only schools recognised by the Department fall under the remit of the Minister. The Department provides roll numbers solely to recognised primary and post-primary schools. Private schools operating independently are not eligible for roll numbers, and there is currently no mechanism for the recognition of such schools outside of those established by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Administration (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The decision-making authority for any school closure is the patron/trustees of the school concerned and it is open to any patron to submit proposals to the Department for consideration. Any proposed closure involves extensive consultation at local level and must be well planned and managed in a manner that accommodates the interests of students, parents, teachers and local communities. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Devine Mercy JNS & SNS This joint school building project will deliver a new extension and refurbishment of some existing accommodation to provide a 24 classroom primary school with classrooms for children with special educational needs, at both schools. The schedule of accommodation was recently increased to include SEN accommodation and the design options submitted by the Design...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I know that teachers experience challenges that were not so acute for previous generations, including casualisation within the teaching profession. That is why I have announced that to help teachers to gain permanent roles more quickly, we will develop a new agreement which will see teachers who have taught for one year and successfully interview for a viable post in that school the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for universal access works. As the Deputy may be aware, on 30 April 2025 officials from the Department attended a site visit to the school in question. The application is currently being reviewed by the technical area within the EWS following this visit. Once a technical...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Deputy will be aware that my Department has broadened its delivery streams and is utilising Modern Methods of Construction, including Modular Accommodation, as well as traditional construction delivery methods. Modular accommodation has particular advantages in terms of overall timelines and also climate impact in that they generally use decarbonised heating sources. In overall terms,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My department's priority is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place. In this regard, it is sometimes necessary to make use of temporary accommodation in order to meet the accommodation needs of schools. The timing and duration of the accommodation need is also considered in determining the optimum accommodation solution – a short-term accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm that contracts have been signed for the acquisition of lands at Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wicklow, intended to facilitate the permanent accommodation of North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School. This acquisition remains subject to the successful granting of planning permission for both the school development and Phase 1 of the proposed residential scheme. Given the commercial...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil their full potential in life is a key priority for my Department, 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 schools, such as the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy, that the department is in receipt of an application for the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school authority in question. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, when the need cannot be met by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Bodies (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 208 together. I can confirm to the Deputy that in accordance with Government Decision S29296 of 19 May 2009, 2 and 8 March 2011, and 28 March 2017, my Department publishes information in relation to Prompt Payments. This information is published on a quarterly basis and is available online at the following link: For the Deputy's convenience, I attach...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Scoileanna Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is fully supportive and remains committed to the establishment of a Gaelcholáiste in the Dublin South City area. The necessary arrangements for the transition of Synge St CBS are currently being worked through with the school’s management and patron to facilitate a smooth transition from an English-medium boys post-primary school to a co-educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Meetings (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is fully supportive and remains committed to the establishment of a Gaelcholáiste in the Dublin South City area. The necessary arrangements for the transition of Synge St CBS are currently being worked through with the school’s management and patron to facilitate a smooth transition from an English-medium boys post-primary school to a co-educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Scoileanna DEIS (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: There are 28 DEIS Urban Band 1 Schools in Co Cork as per the table below: Roll Number School Name Address 1 Address 2 County 05940D Scoil Ursula Blackrock Co Cork Cork 10771K COBH N S Bellevue Cobh Cork 13031I ST JOSEPHS CONVENT N S ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The large scale capital project for the school referred to by the Deputies is the provision of a new 600 pupil school building including all associated ancillary accommodation. The project was originally authorised to proceed to tender, upon completion of the prequalification shortlisting process in September 2022. Planning Permission was due to expire in December 2022 and it was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm that my Department was in receipt of an application for capital funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme from the school in question. The purpose of the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (1 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this. I join with her in commending the fabulous work by our secretaries and caretakers in our schools. I had the opportunity last week to meet many of them at the Fórsa conference as part of the overall Easter conferences. We have made a lot of progress, notably in changing the way our secretaries are paid so they are now paid through the Department of...