Results 721-740 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pension Provisions (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: As you are aware, the Department of Education has been providing a payroll service for former grant funded school secretaries with effect from 1st September 2023. The provision of this payroll service is part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries, following a series of engagements at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in 2022. The agreement...

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

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers has not submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for this issue, to date. 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...

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

Helen McEntee: There are a small number of grants available to individual households which are issued by the Department of Education. The details of these grants are below. Remote Area Boarding Grant The purpose of the Remote Area Boarding Grant scheme is to give students who are disadvantaged because of their remoteness from schools an opportunity to attend school on the same basis as students not so...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (29 Apr 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 (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 845, 846 and 847 together. 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...

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

Helen McEntee: The Department has a significant modular accommodation programme in place to assist schools in the provision of additional capacity, including facilitating the establishment of special classes. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The establishment of Citizens’ Assemblies are the subject of a Government decision and resolutions of the Dáil and Seanad at the appropriate time. There is however a commitment in the Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future to hold a convention bringing together all stakeholders in education. I am liaising with officials from my department in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Programme for Government commits to seeking to increase choice for parents by ensuring that families can access both multi/non-denominational and faith based education. For historical reasons, most primary schools are State-aided parish schools, with the local Bishop as patron. It is recognised, including by the Catholic patrons, that more diverse provision is required to cater for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Surveys (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional...

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

Helen McEntee: Please find attached requested information for the years 2019-2023 inclusive, 2023 being the latest year we have class size data. We expect to publish class data for 2024-2025 in June 2025. The figures are based on mainstream classes in mainstream schools and were collated from the relevant Class Size tables published on our website and can be found at the link below;...

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

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy that investment and expenditure on PE Halls is an element of the overall School Building Programme. The provision of GP rooms and PE Halls, at primary and post primary level respectively, and outdoor hard play areas, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings. This is also the case where a major building or refurbishment project is being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Education Act 1998, the School Board of Management (BOM) appointed by the School’s Patron, is the body charged with the direct governance of a School and the School Principal manages the School on a day-to-day basis. Each School has the autonomy to design their own timetables and decide which subjects and programmes the school will offer based on the educational needs and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Education Act 1998, the School Board of Management (BOM) appointed by the School’s Patron, is the body charged with the direct governance of a School and the School Principal manages the School on a day-to-day basis. Each School has the autonomy to design their own timetables and decide which subjects and programmes the school will offer based on the educational needs and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (29 Apr 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: Departmental Policies (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Programme for Government commits to seeking to increase choice for parents by ensuring that families can access both multi/non-denominational and faith based education. For historical reasons, most primary schools are State-aided parish schools, with the local Bishop as patron. It is recognised, including by the Catholic patrons, that more diverse provision is required to cater for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Programmes (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 865 and 866 together. The Schools PV Programme provides eligible schools with up to 6 kilowatts peak of roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on their roofs, which equates to approximately 14 solar panels. The Schools PV Programme is funded by the Government’s Climate Action Fund in line with the Government’s recognition that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil their full potential in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education, 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (29 Apr 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: Departmental Policies (29 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the Deputy that requirement for school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system,...

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

Helen McEntee: The school building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school and accommodation, including 4 classrooms, for children with special education needs on a site at Kishogue Cross, Griffeen Avenue, Lucan, Co Dublin. The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) issued to the successful contractor on 18/11/2024 which allowed the contractor to commence on...