Results 1,181-1,200 of 17,498 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I would like to thank Deputy O'Rourke for his question regarding my department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). It may be helpful to first outline the work of the service. NEPS provides educational psychological support to all primary, post-primary, and special schools. NEPS provides all schools with:psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident,a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The provision of a sensory room, at primary and post primary level respectively, form part of a suite of ancillary facilities such as a central activities space, multi activity room, as well as outdoor soft play areas, provided as part of new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school which includes provision for special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (8 Jul 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. The DEIS programme is a key policy of government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. My department is investing over €180 million annually to provide additional supports to almost 1,200 schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Capitation grant funding calculation is based on the total enrolment in the school as at September of the school year multiplied by the current rate. Capitation funding for voluntary secondary schools is currently €345 per student but will increase to €386 from September 2025. The amalgamation should have no impact on the capitation funding due to the new school. Voluntary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to expand opportunities for pupils and students to attend Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí. Work on the development of a new policy for Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht is in progress in my Department. This policy will sit within the overall framework of the 20-year Strategy for the Irish language and will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Schools have a role to play in supporting their students to develop the key skills and knowledge to enable them to make informed choices when faced with a range of difficult issues, including drugs, alcohol and gambling. This is mainly done through the SPHE programme. SPHE forms part of the mandatory Wellbeing area of learning at Junior Cycle. Wellbeing in Junior Cycle is about young people...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available The information being sought will be collated and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy once available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 446 and 447 together. Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority area of action for the Government. The recruitment and appointment of teachers for teaching positions is managed by individual school authorities. There are over 3,700...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the deputy refers was granted approval for the provision of one special educational needs classroom under my Department's Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme 2024. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Attendance (3 Jul 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. Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is under the remit of my Department and operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department of Education and Youth, does not gather data on access to or the use of personal digital devices by post-primary students as this is outside of the remit that the department has in this regard. Under the Education Act, the Boards of Management of Schools have responsibility for the day to day management of schools. Decisions regarding the use and deployment of digital...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority of mine. Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: Many staff of the department have qualifications in a wide range of areas, including in teaching for example, however these may not necessarily have been an eligibility requirement for the posts to which they were assigned within the department. There are, however,146 Inspectors who are typically former teachers with experience in the school system currently working in non-teaching posts in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. There are five routes of registration, the minimum registration requirements for each route...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016: www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2023/08/revised-teachi ng-council-registration-regulations-2016.pdf. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 213 to 218, inclusive, together. The requested information is set out at the link below. Data supplied is for academic year 2023-2024, as this is the latest year we have final enrolment data. We expect to publish final enrolment data for academic year 2024-25 shortly and we will revert to the Deputy with this data when available. Data was collated from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 - www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2001/act/8/enacted/en/html - and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. 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 emergency situation. An emergency is deemed to be a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Costs (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: I am keenly aware of the challenges faced by educators and parents in relation to costs of digital technology, including tablets, and my Department continues to work to help support schools and families meet these costs. As referenced, in 2017, a circular letter issued to schools with measures to be adopted to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs including such ICT devices....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (3 Jul 2025)

Helen McEntee: As you are aware in early February, I announced details of the final phase of the ground-breaking scheme which provides free schoolbooks to all children and young people in the Free Education Scheme. From September 2025, over 940,000 children and young people will benefit from the Primary and Post-primary Schoolbooks Schemes. The investment of up to €123 million in 2025 significantly...