Results 661-680 of 17,382 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools and the Programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs. The commitment in the Programme for Government builds on the progress which has been made in recent years, including an over €30 million permanent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1143 and 1144 together. As Minister for Education, I believe it is crucially important that children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. This Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families. As you...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Uniforms (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Decisions on school uniforms are a matter for individual schools and Boards of Management. My department issued Circular 0032/2017, which sets out the principles of cost-effective practice to be adopted by schools to reduce the cost of returning to school. Under these measures, schools were advised that they should select school uniform items which are generic and can be purchased from a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Government is investing a record €11.8 billion into education and schools through Budget 2025. This record level of investment has allowed the Government to invest in tackling educational disadvantage and supporting those with special educational needs to achieve their full potential. It has enabled huge investment in the school buildings programme, in curriculum reform, in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools, and the Programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs. The commitment in the Programme for Government builds on the progress which has been made in recent years, including an over €30 million...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Pay and workplace reform measures for public servants have been governed by a framework of public service pay agreements for a number of years with the current agreement “Public Service Agreement (PSA) 2024-2026” succeeded the previous agreement “Building Momentum 2020-2024” and is in place until June 2026. The PSA provides for baseline increases of 9.25% for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy is aware, I recently announced €35 million in funding to support digital learning in schools. €35 million in grant funding for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has now issued to all recognised primary and post-primary schools. This ICT funding is being provided to schools to enable the continued embedding of digital technologies in their teaching,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1150 and 1151 together. My Department does not currently collate, or publish, details of appointments on a per county basis and therefore the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available. The allocation process for the 2025/26 school year is currently underway and will not be finalised until the Autumn. This Government is dedicated to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Please find attached requested data. Data provided is collated from the class size data for academic year 2024-2025 and is based on mainstream pupils in mainstream classes. www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/class-size -information-at-individual-primary-school-level/ The Government is investing a record €11.8 billion into education and schools through Budget 2025. This...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: In Budget 2025, my department announced that the free schoolbooks scheme would be extended to students in Senior Cycle years, including Transition Year, in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. This brings the total investment for schoolbooks to over €170 million for the new school year. This means, for the first time ever, all children and young people enrolled in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: In Budget 2025, my department announced that the free schoolbooks scheme would be extended to students in Senior Cycle years, including Transition Year, in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. This brings the total investment for schoolbooks to over €170 million for the new school year. This means, for the first time ever, all children and young people enrolled in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy that at the end of the 2024/2025 school year, 17,488 Ukrainian pupils were enrolled in Irish schools. Of these, 10,566 were enrolled in primary schools, while 6,922 were enrolled in post-primary schools. A breakdown of enrolments by county at primary and post-primary level is as follows. County Primary Post primary Total ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities.?? My department's school building projects are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department publishes details of the number of teaching posts which are allocated to schools each year and also the number of teachers employed by schools each year. Details of the number of teaching posts which are allocated to primary and secondary schools each year are published as part of my Departments annual key statistics information reports. These...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (29 Jul 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 schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally. The primary school staffing arrangements for the 2025/26 school year are set...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme to provide 1 mainstream classroom and a 2 classroom SEN base. The project is devolved to the school authority for delivery. A Stage 2b Report (post planning) was received in April 2025. This report will require a thorough and intensive review from both a technical and cost perspective in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Over the last 5 years, my department has not used reserved contracts or social clauses in its public procurement tenders for Goods and Services. My department is currently working to develop further training resources in line with the recently published Circular 17/2025 to encourage the use of socially responsible public procurement in its procurements. The Planning and Building Unit (PBU)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: As you are aware the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special class and special school places are provided. During the planning process a number of schools may be approached to consider opening a special class in their locality. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs, including the allocation of special needs assistants (SNAs). The NCSE has advised my department that all schools have been informed of their SNA allocation for the 2025/26 school year. The NCSE have published SNA...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (29 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the departments pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide a 4 classroom SEN Base. The project was devolved to the school for delivery. I can confirm that this project received my departments approval to proceed to Stage 2b (developed design) in July 2024, and my department now awaits a post planning report to include...