Results 601-620 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

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

Helen McEntee: Under the Constitution, the provisions of article 44 recognise the rights of children to attend school without attending religious instruction at that school. Furthermore the provisions of Section 30(2) (e) of the Education Act 1998 provide that a school shall not require a student to attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parent / guardian of the student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The estimated cost of increasing the primary school capitation grant by €75 per pupil from €224 to €299 for the period 1 September to 31 December would be an additional 13.4 million. The estimated additional cost of maintaining such an increase for a full year, from 1 January to 31 December 2027 would be a further 26.6 million. The Department is committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: 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. Each 1 point reduction in the staffing schedule at primary level for DEIS and non-DEIS schools requires...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (7 May 2025)

Helen McEntee: The sraith pictiúr, or picture sequences, are a component of the common Irish Oral test for Higher Level and Ordinary Level candidates, with the Oral test accounting for 40% of the overall marks for Leaving Cert Irish. In response to issues highlighted in National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) research...

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 school referred to by the Deputy has a current mainstream staffing of Administrative Principal and 8 classroom teachers. On the basis of the increase in enrolments in September 2024,...

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

Helen McEntee: Teaching allocations are determined by the enrolment of the school on the previous 30th September. This process enables the Department to have in place the necessary measures to assess the accuracy of returns and thereby strengthen the integrity of the resource allocation process and the equitable treatment of schools, whilst ensuring that publicly funded resources are properly allocated. ...

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...