Results 81-100 of 6,570 for speaker:Michael Moynihan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (7 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I refer to the Deputy’s further queries about the Exceptional Interim Grant (EIG). This EIG is being offered to families affected by the delays in the commencement of their mainstream service. The EIG will be paid based on the number of days that children attended school and is calculated from 25th August 2025 until their school transport service commences. Officials in the School...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (2 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 282, 283 and 285 together. This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. Special needs assistants (SNAs) play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (2 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: It is important that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) review all aspects of support in schools to ensure that schools have the right supports in place. The NCSE incorporate a multi-tiered appraisal of student need, school deployment of existing SNA allocation and school practice during a SNA allocation review. The NCSE Relate programme launched in February 2025 is a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (2 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: The Department of Education and Youth's Home Tuition Grant Scheme provides funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention. An application under the home tuition grant scheme for the child referred to by the Deputy was received by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (2 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is, in the first instance, the primary body responsible for the matter the Deputy has raised. I have forwarded this issue to them for their attention and direct reply. Deputies are also welcome to raise such queries with the NCSE directly through their dedicated Oireachtas query line at oireachtasqueries@ncse.ie. Special needs assistants...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (2 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I wish to advise the Deputy that further to the parliamentary question listed above, Bus Éireann has confirmed that the service referred to by the Deputy commenced on the 27 August 2025. My department has requested that the Bus Éireann local office contact the family directly to confirm the GPS co-ordinates and pick up point. If the family has any further queries, they can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (2 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for children with special educational needs. The NCSE has advised me that the school referred to by the Deputy applied for a special need assistant (SNA) allocation review during the last school year. A review of the care needs was completed and...

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

Michael Moynihan: I thank the Deputy for the question. The guidelines that were issued last week in relation to the SNAs were reaffirming the 2014 circular that forms the basis of SNAs being employed within schools. There was some misinformation last week in relation to it. I can assure the Deputy that the allocation of two SNAs for the special classes, of whatever form they are, is sacrosanct. It is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Youth Services (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I thank the Deputy for his second contribution. As outlined, the Department provides significant support to the UBU scheme for youth services that support young people in the north inner city. Many communities across the length and breadth of the country are looking for the same intervention as has happened in the north east inner city and north inner city. They are looking at resources...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I thank the Deputy. First, when a child is in preschool and is availing of the AIM programme, something I noticed when I got this role was that in the Department of children and the Department of Social Protection the information that was across the system was not being shared. Children who are in preschool and availing of the programme should be very much taken into account when they start...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Youth Services (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the crisis in the youth services in the north inner city, which gives me an opportunity to set out the position regarding these services. Supporting youth services is an absolute priority for the Department of Education and Youth, ensuring that young people in the north inner city of Dublin and across the country have access to valuable resources...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I take the Deputy's point and thank him for putting the matter relating to Tiernan and his care needs on the record of the Dáil. I could give him a long-winded answer, but I take the point he has made and I assure him I understand the importance of SNAs in enabling students like Tiernan across the country to access education and get better outcomes. I undertake to consult the NCSE and...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The question was about the impact of the delays in the Cavan-Monaghan area. I can speak to the amount of work being done by SNAs, which I have spoken about in response to Deputy Ó Murchú's matter, and the commitment of the Government to SNAs. Special education is built on the huge commitment by SNAs the length and breadth of the country...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I thank the Deputy for raising this sensitive matter before us. I assure him that clarity was brought on the issue of the SNA guidelines but there were some concerns in relation to them. Nothing has changed. We are working off the circulars for 2014 and that will continue to be case. I would like to allay the fears that some people have in relation to the guidelines and the letters issued...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools by helping to ensure that these students can access an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 60 and 61 together. This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. Special needs assistants (SNAs) play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools by helping to ensure that these students can access an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools by helping to ensure that these students can access an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. The purpose of the Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. Under the current terms of the School Transport...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (1 Oct 2025)

Michael Moynihan: This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools by helping to ensure that these students can access an...