Results 1,081-1,100 of 15,342 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I take it that the Deputy is referring to the curricula for Social, Personal and Health Education (Social, Personal and Health Education), including Relationships and Sexuality (RSE). The aim of these curricula is to help students to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills, dispositions and values that will empower them to lead healthy and fulfilling lives, and to nurture respectful,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department of Education is committed to supporting the emotional wellbeing of our children. I am delighted to update you on the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot. Strand 1 sees direct counselling supports being provided to primary schools for the first time. The Department set up county panels of pre-approved private counsellors providing one-to-one counselling in primary schools in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department has received an application, under the Additional Schools Accommodation Scheme (ASA), from the school authority in question. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department is liaising directly with the patron of the school in question relating to the matters referred to by the Deputy. A new school building is being provided as part of a two phased development on a Department owned site for the post primary school in question. The school has already occupied the element constructed in phase one and phase two is due to be completed shortly. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (27 Feb 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: School Enrolments (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: It is an absolute priority to ensure that every child in the State has access to a school place and the Department of Education are continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools to ensure that this is the case. Enrolment pressures can be driven by duplications of applications, applications from outside an area, and school of choice factors. Since 2020, my department...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government commits to seeking to increase choice for parents by ensuring that families can access both Multi or non-denominational and faith based education. Since 2011, new arrangements have been in place for the establishment of new schools involving the forecasting of demand for school places based on demographic exercises carried out by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I wish to advise the deputy that all applications from schools for major capital works must be considered in the context of capacity requirements and climate action commitments. The priority of my Department continues to be the provision of required additional school places to meet demographic requirements as well as for children with special educational needs. My Department is required...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter the department’s pipeline of projects under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme. The project will provide for 3 mainstream classrooms, 1 technology room and preparation area, 2 science laboratories and preparation area, 1 design and communications graphics room, 1 art room, 1 multimedia room and a 2 classroom Special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Devine Mercy JNS & SNS This joint school building project will deliver a new extension and refurbishment of some existing accommodation to provide a 24 classroom primary school with classrooms for children with special educational needs, at both schools. The schedule of accommodation was recently increased to include SEN accommodation and the design options submitted by the Design...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (27 Feb 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: Educational Disadvantage (27 Feb 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 Youth and for the Government. As the Deputy will know, the DEIS Programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. The DEIS programme provides a targeted range of supports, and is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (27 Feb 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: School Enrolments (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required the aim to try and facilitate this, as much as possible, is by way of expansion of existing schools, rather than establishing new schools. The expansion of existing schools is consistent with wider Government objectives under Project Ireland 2040 for an increased emphasis on compact growth. New schools are only...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Transition Year programme is a valuable optional programme at Senior Cycle. It offers students opportunities for life skills, for personal, social and academic development, and to explore different pathways and gain experience of adult and working life. This year, over 60,000 students are enrolled in TY programmes representing a record level of participation. Since 2018, the number...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department’s voted estimate for capital and current expenditure for 2025 stands at €11.9 Billion. This represents an increase of over €3.2 Billion or 37% since 2020 and builds on significant increases in recent budgets. This is the third largest budget across Government, and the largest ever investment in our schools. This indicates the strong commitment to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: 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 secretaries had previously...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The large scale capital project for the school referred to by the Deputy is the provision of a new 600 pupil school building including all associated ancillary accommodation. The project was originally authorised to proceed to tender, upon completion of the prequalification shortlisting process in September 2022. Planning Permission was due to expire in December 2022 and it was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am committed to ensuring that all of our children and young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential. The State Examinations Commission facilitates access to the certificate examinations through its scheme of reasonable accommodations at the certificate examinations. The purpose of the RACE scheme is to allow candidates who have special educational needs to demonstrate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (27 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter the department’s pipeline for a project under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The project will provide 9 Mainstream classrooms (6 Prefab replacement) and a 2 Classroom SEN base. The Stage 2b Report was received in Q4 of 2024 and remains under review from both a technical and cost perspective in accordance...