Results 81-100 of 16,184 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: PQ 116 of 11 June 2025 sought an updated list of all email and phone lines for use of Oireachtas members within her Department, including all subsidiary bodies, in tabular form. Details are presented in the table below. Department Units Business Unit Number email Minister’s Office 01 889 2335 Minister@education.gov.ie...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Trade Unions (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Over recent budgets, additional resources have been made available to our schools, including through the delivery of thousands of extra teaching and Special Needs Assistant posts, increased capitation in schools, enhanced supports for school leadership, additional resources for special education, inclusion and wellbeing measures, reduced primary school class sizes, actions to assist teacher...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Policies (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 440, 441, 442 and 443 together. Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying was launched on 1st December 2022. Cineáltas is my department’s whole-education approach to preventing and addressing bullying in schools. Cineáltas is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying, cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Jun 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. This remains a top priority. My Department has undertaken a number of initiatives to provide for additional teachers in STEM subjects. These have led to:an increase of 20% in Initial Teacher...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Applications relating to the provision of funding for issues relating to an existing school building can fall under a number of different delivery mechanisms including, most frequently, the Emergency Works Scheme and the Summer Works Scheme (SWS). The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. It does so by ensuring the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Leaving Certificate is highly regarded and trusted as a system of assessment and maintaining confidence in the qualification is critically important to me as MinisterCurrently, almost three-quarters of all Leaving Certificate subjects include components other the final written examination which vary by subject, and include oral and aural examinations, practical performances, coursework...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The project for Coláiste Mhichíl is an extension and reburbishment to provide for 550 pupils and 2 special education classrooms. The project is currently at Stage 2b (the detailed design stage) of the architectural process. As part of this process a stage 2b report was submitted in May 2025 by the project Design Team for review by the Department. Once this information is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my department is working with a number of school authorities in relation to the provision of modular accommodation for the upcoming 2025/26 school year. These projects are being worked through currently and the delivery of accommodation for schools is dependent on a number of factors such as the suitability of the site in question, possible planning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Jun 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The project to which the Deputy refers forms part of the Celbridge Campus Project which has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA). The schedule of accommodation for this project allows for 24 classrooms and 4 SEN. The project is currently at Stage 2a (the developed design stage) of the architectural process. As part of this process a stage 2a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the local bargaining provision for Public Service Agreement (PSA) 2024-2026, employers and trade unions/associations may negotiate additional changes in rates of pay and/or conditions of employment. In this regard, my Department has engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and the relevant Unions in the Education Sector...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the local bargaining provision for Public Service Agreement (PSA) 2024-2026, employers and trade unions/associations may negotiate additional changes in rates of pay and/or conditions of employment. In this regard, my Department has engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and the relevant Unions in the Education Sector...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Please find attached requested data. Data was collated from the final class tables for the years 2019-2023, which can be found at the link below. We expect data for 2024 to be published shortly and we will revert to the Deputy with the data for academic year 2024-2025 as well as the teacher/pupil ratio when available. For academic years 2021, 2022 and 2023 there were no schools in County...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm that officials in my department are in receipt of an application for capital funding from the school referred to by the Deputy and had ongoing correspondence with the school following this application. I wish to advise you that all applications from schools for major capital works must be considered in the context of capacity requirements and climate action commitments. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The curriculum specification and prescribed material for any subject are determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) www.ncca.ie. There is no obligation on a school to use any textbooks in their delivery of the curriculum. The role of the school is to provide an appropriate education for all its pupils. Schools have autonomy in choosing the resources and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department was successful in securing €81m from REPowerEU to fund an expanded schools energy decarbonisation programme and the completion of the schools energy inventory survey. The survey of all primary and post-primary schools marks a key step on the School Sector Technical Climate Action Roadmap, as the Department of Education works to contribute towards reaching 2030 and 2050...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school building project referred to by the Deputy is part of a campus project assigned to my Department’s Design and Build programme which uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction. This campus project will deliver a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school and accommodation,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the deputy refers was granted capital funding under my Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme for reconfiguration works to provide two special education classrooms and two mainstream classrooms. The use of the Department's Term Maintenance Framework assists in ensuring lead in periods for procurement of accommodation are...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I join him in acknowledging the unbelievable contribution that both secretaries and caretakers play in our school community and thank them for the work they do. Obviously in recent years, progress was made through the WRC and engagement with the secretaries to change the rate of pay and the way in which they were paid. Work is underway to follow...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: It is important to outline that as of the end of April, 399 new classes and one class that has been given a legal direction to open, comprising a total of 400 new special classes, are being opened, coupled with places that have become available due to natural movement, meaning 3,900 new spaces are available. What I expect as Minister and what is happening now is that all of those places are...