Results 601-620 of 15,028 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (19 Mar 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)...

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

Helen McEntee: As set out previously, the Department is committed to ensuring that school caretakers will be afforded the opportunity to avail of a similar package offered to school secretaries of revised salary and annual leave entitlements. Any review of changes to the employment of school caretakers can occur only under through the usual industrial relations processes. The Department, in conjunction...

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

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy is currently based in temporary modular accommodation. It is intended that the school will relocate to a former primary school building that is currently occupied by a special school pending the construction of a new school building for that special school which is currently under construction. It is envisaged that the new school building for the special...

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

Helen McEntee: My Department does not have any record of payments made to the company referred to by the Deputy. As my Department only holds financial records dating back to 2003, it is not possible to confirm whether payments were made in the years prior to 2003.

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

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy, that the school in question submitted an application for capital funding, under my Department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The purpose of the Additional School Accommodation scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot...

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

Helen McEntee: The recently published Programme for Government, Securing Ireland’s Future, includes the commitment to provide free period products in schools to ensure no student is held back due to period poverty. My department is participating in the work of the inter-departmental period poverty group led by the Department of Health. I intend to make progress in relation to providing free...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The following table shows the number of schools by county offering Physical Education Leaving Certificate exam subject in 2023-24. This is the latest available subject data, but we expect that data for 2024-25 will be available in June 2025. - 2023 Subject: Physical Education (LC Exam) County Count Unique Ed Orgs ...

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

Helen McEntee: I can advise the Deputy that ESD to 2030, Ireland's 2nd National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development, aims to ensure that all learners have the knowledge and skills required to promote sustainable development, in line with Sustainable Development Goals target 4.7. The Department of Education has delivered funding to schools and organisations to support ESD projects with most...

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

Helen McEntee: There are no functions, roles and services that were previously carried out and delivered by staff of my Department that have been contracted out to the private sector since the implementation of the Building Momentum public service agreement.

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

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for External Environment works. The application in question is currently being reviewed by the technical area within the EWS. Once a technical recommendation has been received back from the technical team, the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The...

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

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the recently announced Climate Action Summer Works Scheme (CASWS) is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. I recently announced details in respect of the Climate Action...

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

Helen McEntee: The Department acknowledges that homework can play an important part in helping students to prepare for forthcoming classwork and in reinforcing work already covered during class time, however, it is a matter for each school, at local level, to arrive at its own homework policy which best serves the school community. All policies and decisions regarding homework are school based where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: Providing inclusive education to children with special educational needs is a fundamental principle of the education system. This principle is observed through Department policies, Teaching Council requirements for initial teacher education (ITE), curriculum provision and the range of supports provided to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and Oide. Inclusive...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Defective Building Materials (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for a fabric defect project works, relating to testing and remediation of mica related issues with the school building. The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. It does so by ensuring the availability of...

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

Helen McEntee: My department’s main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available for the relevant year, the student should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a...

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

Helen McEntee: As the deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation. An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: The criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department’s Circulars 10/2001 for primary teachers, 29/2007 and 29/2010 for post-primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC). Circular 29/2007 is the relevant circular regarding the application that...

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 Accommodation (19 Mar 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 763 to 766, inclusive, together. The Furniture and Equipment (F&E) team within my Department deals with the administration of the sensory room start-up grant. In order to be eligible for this grant, the school must demonstrate it has an NCSE-approved ASD class and that there is a suitable room to house the sensory room (i.e. drawings of the school...

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

Helen McEntee: In accordance with the Education Act 1998, schools are managed by Boards of Management on behalf of the relevant school patrons. Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools have admissions policies, which have been approved by the patron. All schools must publish their admissions policy on the schools website. It is a key requirement of the act that...