Results 81-100 of 17,805 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (4 Nov 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. My Department has secured €39 million...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: There is a need to ensure careful consideration about the use of AI in all aspects of teaching, learning and assessment, and it is important that teachers and school leaders understand the strength and limitations of AI but also address the ethical considerations and risks involved. Education and training have a key role to play in ensuring that when AI is used, it is done so effectively and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. The Minister for Education and Youth is determined to close the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introduce more innovative solutions to tackle disadvantage. The new DEIS plan will be published this year and will include a DEIS plus scheme. The plan will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Mental Health Services (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 74 together. At the outset, it is important to note that the provision of child and adolescent mental health services lies specifically within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. HSE Primary Care Psychology Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provide a range of clinical supports to children and young people....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT Programme. The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the design stages of architectural planning to Tender and Construction. The brief for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm that officials in my department are in receipt of an application for large scale capital funding from the school referred to by the Deputy and has corresponded extensively with the school following this application. The school has already received significant capital funding in its current location, although it has also refused proposed investment in the existing school which...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Guidance on AI in Schools was prepared by Oide TiE and the Department of Education and Youth whilst taking into account various frameworks, reports and guidance from other jurisdictions as well as from the OECD, UNESCO and the European Commission. It also benefits from experiences with various AI pilots and initiatives involving teachers and school leaders. An early draft was provided...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (4 Nov 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, using...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: In September, I launched the Redeveloped Primary Curriculum Specifications for all primary and special schools across Ireland. This marked the most comprehensive transformation of primary education in over a generation, designed to equip children with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. This includes a new Wellbeing specification which integrates Physical Education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (4 Nov 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 1,300 school building projects. In addition, repurposing, and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely, local provision of special class capacity in a way that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (4 Nov 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. The opportunities for the establishment of new multi-denominational primary schools have declined. Demographic trends and projections at primary school level nationally have peaked. In order to maximise the use...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Services (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: The department supports the delivery of youth services nationwide. Arising from Budget 2025, €84.9 million has been allocated for current and capital expenditure for the benefit of young people, representing an increase of €7 million, or almost 9%, on the 2024 budget. Between 2021 and 2025, current exchequer funding for youth services and programmes has increased by over 34%....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (4 Nov 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 64 together. Teaching allocations are determined by the enrolment of the school on the previous 30 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was provided with a new school building on a greenfield site in January 2024 to cater for 4 mainstream classes, a Special Education Needs class and ancillary accommodation. The new school building is a sustainable timber modular construction and the project was delivered under the Department’s Project Manager framework. This programme provides...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (4 Nov 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. As part of the capitation package in Budget...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: This Government is fully committed to ensuring that every child has a positive school experience, with access to qualified and engaged teachers who are dedicated to supporting their learning. Over 97%, of allocated teaching posts are filled, and the number of unfilled allocated posts in DEIS and rural schools is comparable to that in all schools. As with other sectors of the economy,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Additional School Accommodation project referred to has been devolved for delivery to the school authority. A design team has been appointed to progress the project through the necessary architectural stages of design, statutory approvals, procurement and construction. This project is approved for 3 Special Educational Needs classrooms , 7...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: The current status of the 3 secondary school projects referred to by the Deputy is as follows: The Blessington Community College project has been devolved for delivery to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB). The Project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural design process. This stage allows for detailed design and planning, obtaining the necessary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Nov 2025)

Helen McEntee: The large scale capital project referred to by the Deputy is the provision of a new 600 pupil school, plus 2 SEN, and ancillary accommodation. The project was originally authorised to proceed to tender upon completion of the Prequalification Questionnaire (PQQ) shortlisting process in September 2022. Planning Permission was due to expire in December 2022 and it was anticipated that an...