Results 1,301-1,320 of 15,342 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998 the board of management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school and the principal is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school, including arrangements for co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. While the decision to become involved in organised school sports is a matter for each school, all schools are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school in question currently does not have any outstanding applications on hand for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for a window replacement. The purpose of the EWS is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide one early intervention unit and four special education tuition classrooms under the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. A school building project has four points within the design and delivery process where approval from the Department to move...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (18 Feb 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 for the Department of Education. At a national level, Ireland has been experiencing growth in overall post primary enrolments and this is projected to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended) provides for an appeal, where a board of management, or a person acting on behalf of the board of management (normally the school principal) refuses to admit a student to a school, suspends a student for not less than 20 days or permanently excludes a student. Where a board of management suspends a student from attendance at a school for a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Please find attached requested data. In previous budgets, reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools was prioritised which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the lowest level ever seen at primary level. A three point reduction in the retention schedule assists schools that would otherwise be at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers has submitted one Emergency Works (EWS) application in the last number of years, which was received last month and is currently under review. The Department of Education was successful in 2024 with an application for inclusion in the REPowerEU Energy Programme to develop and complete a Schools Energy Retrofit Pathfinder programme his EU programme has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis including external works such as play areas. However, all projects must be fully approved by my Department and be in compliance with the Department’s Technical Guidance Documents (TGD’s) before progressing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: Any building in the ownership of the Minister for Education which is not currently in use has an associated school building project.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Properties (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The information sought by the Deputy is included in the below table. Property Location Comment Size/Cost Property Location Comment Size/Cost Land in Ballincollig County Cork Purchased to facilitate potential future project for nearby schools. 0.045 hectares ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: EU Meetings (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The next formal meeting of EU Education Ministers will occur as part of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council on 12-13 May 2025. This meeting will come towards the end of Poland's Presidency of the Council of the EU and will take place in Brussels.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (18 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: Schools Refurbishment (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: It is important to note that the main purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide for unforeseen emergencies that impact on school buildings. 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. Emergency Works Scheme operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school in question has made an application for grant funding for a sensory room. To be considered eligible for this grant the school must have an existing special educational needs (SEN) classroom that has been sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) or be in the process of opening one. The designated sensory room must be separate from the SEN classroom or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: The project to which the Deputy refers is a Major Devolved project and has been devolved for delivery to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB). It is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural process, which allows for detailed design/planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and the preparation of tender documents. The planning application was lodged in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (18 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: Artificial Intelligence (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department continue to review and follow guidance issued by the National Cyber Security Centre, Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, and the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform on the use of Artificial Intelligence. A limited trial is underway by my Communications Department to assess the opportunity for productivity gains of AI services which includes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (18 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy that the department is in receipt of an application for funding for Major Capital Works from the school to which the Deputy refers. This application has been assessed under the Department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 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: Schools Building Projects (13 Feb 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question for 1 x Mainstream classroom modular and the school authority has subsequently requested that this modular be changed to provide 1 x Special education needs classroom. The purpose of my Department’s...