Results 141-160 of 15,027 for speaker:Helen McEntee

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

Helen McEntee: The projects in County Wicklow to which the Deputy refers have been devolved for delivery to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB) and the NDFA respectively. Regarding Blessington Community College, I can confirm that in Quarter 2 2023, my Department approved a submission from the school authority to increase the original brief to reflect a significant increase in...

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

Helen McEntee: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver an extension to the existing school to expand it to become a 16 classroom primary school and accommodation, including 2 classrooms, for children with special educational needs, which will be delivered as part of a shared educational campus. It is intended that the project will be delivered under my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pay (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Pay and workplace reform measures for public servants have been governed by a framework of public service pay agreements with the current agreement “Public Service Agreement (PSA)” in place until June 2026. The agreements provided for pay restoration for public servants and new entrant pay has been gradually restored over the years. The previous agreement, Building Momentum...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 520 together. 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. As with other sectors, recruitment challenges exist in some schools. To address teacher supply issues, my...

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

Helen McEntee: The project referred to by the Deputy is a campus project devolved for delivery to Galway and Roscommon Educational Training Board (GRETB). This project was approved to proceed to tender (stage 3 of the architectural process) in February 2025. Once this stage has concluded, the project will progress onwards to construction in due course. While at this current stage, it is not possible to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The area of wellbeing and the promotion of positive mental health is a priority for the Department of Education. The Department of Education’s approach to supporting wellbeing and mental health is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice. The approach in the Wellbeing Policy is founded on research and best international practice in relation to how schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Apr 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 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Voluntary contributions can be requested by schools; however, it must be made absolutely clear to parents that there is no requirement to pay, and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own choice. Section 64 of the Education (Admissions to schools) Act 2018, which was commenced in 2018, explicitly prohibits the charging of admission and enrolment fees for admission...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: My Department has approved a new large two-storey modular building under the Department's Devolved SEN (Special Education Needs) Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme to meet the school’s immediate need and the project is currently in delivery stage. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be...

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

Helen McEntee: My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (8 Apr 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. Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.8 billion in school infrastructure nationwide and over €1.3...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (8 Apr 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 daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

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

Helen McEntee: Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.8 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State...

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

Helen McEntee: The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Cork Education and Training Board (CETB). A Stage 2a meeting took place in March 2025. Additional information was requested from the Design Team to address queries raised. Once this information is received, reviewed, and approved by my Department, the project will progress to Stage 2b which allows for detailed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Inclusive education (including Special Education) was a mandatory element of initial teacher education (ITE) programmes which were extended and reconceptualised under Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers (Teaching Council, 2011). Within further updated standards which the Teaching Council adopted in 2020, known as Céim Standards for Initial Teacher...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Following the implementation of calculated grades in 2020 and the dual approach of examinations and accredited grades in 2021, two types of intervention have been implemented in recent years: adjustments to examination and assessments arrangements, and a post-marking adjustment to outcomes. This post-marking adjustment has ensured that results in the aggregate have remained the same on...

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

Helen McEntee: The existing curriculum at primary and post primary level offers multiple opportunities for the development of digital skills and digital literacy. Reforms and updates are underway within the curriculum at all levels which will further ensure that our children and young people are equipped with the necessary digital skills and literacy required to participate fully in society....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (8 Apr 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 for the Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. It provides a targeted range of supports and is additional to the universal supports provided to all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school referred to by the deputy is currently based in temporary accommodation. It is intended that the school will relocate to a former primary school building that is currently occupied by a special school, pending the construction of a new school building for that special school. The new school building for the special school is currently underway and it is envisaged that it will be...

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

Helen McEntee: The first school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the Department's pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide 4 general classrooms, 1 construction room and a 2 classroom special educational needs base. The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority. The revised Stage 1 report is currently being reviewed from both a technical and cost perspective in...