Written answers
				Tuesday, 8 April 2025
  				
Department of Education and Skills
				 
  - School Facilities 
 430. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are grants available, outside of minor works grants, for schools to install accessible playgrounds on their site to encourage learning...
- Schools Building Projects 
 431. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when her Department will reply to a school (details supplied) which wants to confirm a timeline with her Department with respect to a planned...
- Departmental Funding 
 433. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total funding given to fifty private schools in current and capital funding between 2020-2024, breaking allocations down by current, capital,...
- School Transport 
 434. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will work with Bus Éireann to amend the rules to allow drivers over 70 years-of-age to continue to drive school buses, subject to...
- Disability Diagnoses 
 436. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason foetal alcohol spectrum disorder is not recognised as a disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16563/25]
- School Staff 
 437. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of SNAs employed in the education system, in tabular form. [16566/25]
- School Facilities 
 439. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools that have working lifts in the school, in tabular form; and the plans to install lifts in schools to make buildings...
- Education Welfare Service 
 441. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of education welfare officers there are in the country, and where, in tabular form. [16570/25]
- Education Policy 
 442. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of Leaving Certificate reform; her plans, and the timeline of changes; and what changes are planned. [16571/25]
- School Accommodation 
 443. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools in prefabricated buildings in the State, and the timeline for the school to receive a permanent building, in tabular form....
- National Educational Psychological Service 
 444. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of NEPs psychologists there are, in tabular form. [16573/25]
- Education Policy 
 445. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to explain how the Leaving Certificate results will be “equalised” from Covid time; and if she will make a statement on the issue....
- School Curriculum 
 446. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of single sex boys’ schools that teach home economics. [16575/25]
- School Patronage 
 447. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of single sex girls' schools, in tabular form. [16576/25]
- School Facilities 
 454. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools that do not have suitable outdoor space for students for break times and other outdoor learning. [16585/25]
- School Funding 
 456. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current level of capitation grants for primary schools; and their intended usage, comparing this academic year with the last academic year;...
- School Patronage 
 459. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special schools in the country, in tabular form. [16590/25]
- School Curriculum 
 460. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who have applied for an Irish exemption in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, in tabular form. [16592/25]
- School Discipline 
 461. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills how schools are reviewing anti-bullying policies annually; and how many schools are reviewing anti bullying policies; in tabular form. [16593/25]
- School Textbooks 
 462. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total expenditure on public schoolbooks since the scheme was introduced, in tabular form. [16599/25]
- Education Policy 
 463. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 600 of 19 March 2025 (details supplied), when the 314 school planning areas were last reviewed; and when...
- School Management 
 464. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status or regard a school should have for a doctor’s recommendation that action be taken to support a pupil who is suffering mentally...
- Special Educational Needs 
 467. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has considered opening a special school specifically for the areas of Rathcoole, Newcastle, Saggart and Brittas in order to...
- Schools Building Projects 
 471. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on an emergency works application (details supplied). [16634/25]
- School Staff 
 472. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review and reverse a recent decision to suppress two mainstream class teacher positions in a school in County Kerry (details...
- School Transport 
 473. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school bus ticket for a person in County Kildare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter....
- School Accommodation 
 474. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a grant for emergency works applied for on 19 December 2023 (details supplied) will be approved immediately; and if a more recent application...
- School Staff 
 475. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the case of a school teacher (details supplied); if her department will engage with the Teaching Council in...
- Departmental Projects 
 476. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a schedule of all capital projects being delivered or which have been completed by her Department and organisations under the...
- School Accommodation 
 477. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will give a commitment to necessary repair work being carried out at a school (details supplied) to ensure that this school can provide...
- School Staff 
 478. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will report on her proposals to ensure that school caretakers are fairly remunerated for their work; and if she will make a statement on...
- Education Policy 
 480. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills why reading programmes such as Reading Recovery and Edmark are promoted by her Department in place of science of reading approaches; and if she...
- Education Welfare Service 
 481. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if education welfare officers are permitted to extend their support to young people under the age of sixteen attending a Youthreach programme;...
- School Staff 
 482. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 480 of 27 March 2025, to clarify whether the terms and conditions of the non-statutory leave of absence...
- State Examinations 
 484. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to address the pay disparity between special needs assistants (SNAs) and non-SNAs for supervising State exams, a practice that appears...
- Education Policy 
 485. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to address the critical gap in the education system for students with additional educational needs who are unable to complete the traditional...
- Departmental Data 
 486. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to examine a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16807/25]
- School Transport 
 488. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason bus drivers over the age of 70 cannot operate on school bus routes that are contracted to Bus Éireann; if the National Transport...
- Disadvantaged Status 
 490. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) have not been granted DEIS status when all other schools in the area have DEIS status, leaving the school...
- School Staff 
 491. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to review a matter concerning an SET post at a school (details supplied). [16886/25]
- School Accommodation 
 493. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current status of an additional accommodation project application by a school (details supplied); when they can proceed to the next phase;...
- School Curriculum 
 494. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the traditional Irish harp in primary and post primary curriculum; if, given the expense of purchasing an Irish harp, funding is...
- Special Educational Needs 
 495. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students in counties Wicklow and Wexford who have diagnosed special needs for both primary and secondary level, in tabular form;...
- School Transport 
 496. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children carried on school buses entirely comprising concessionary tickets due to the change in school transport scheme policy for...
- School Staff 
 498. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of SNA posts funded in Budget 2025; the level of support this will provide in the planned new special classes and special schools for...
- Schools Building Projects 
 504. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount that her Department has spent to date on the construction of a building (details supplied); and the final cost expected for this...
- Special Educational Needs 
 505. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to allocate a budget line to making permanent and to roll out the pilot that took place in Dublin 15, with a central allocation process...
- Apprenticeship Programmes 
 506. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of apprenticeships registered with her Department for each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement...
- Departmental Staff 
 507. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide a list with the job titles and salaries of all Ministerial staff, and Department private secretaries. [17051/25]
- School Facilities 
 508. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the provision of free period products will be available in all schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17171/25]
- School Equipment 
 509. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for details on the next tranche under ICT grant funding; if this will open to schools for application; and if she will make a statement on the...
- School Staff 
 510. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details on any changes in the allocation process for schools for special needs assistants for 2025/2026; and if she will make a...
- Pupil-Teacher Ratio 
 512. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to report on her Department’s efforts to reduce the student to teacher ratio in primary schools. [17175/25]
- Programme for Government 
 514. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what her plans are to deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to "collect data to create more targeted, effective services for...
- Schools Building Projects 
 515. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the approved extension for a school (details supplied); if the originally sanctioned seven-classroom remains unchanged; the current...
- School Staff 
 516. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to review the case of a DEIS Band 1 primary school (details supplied) which is set to lose its tenth mainstream teacher due to a rigid...
- School Equipment 
 517. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans to ensure a new school (details supplied) is compliant with fire safety regulations; and if she will make a statement on the matter....
- School Transport 
 518. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her assessment that school transportation be legally required to ensure appropriate supervision in an effort to prevent bullying. [17289/25]
- School Curriculum 
 519. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will consider seeking a re-running of Schools' Folklore Project 1937-1938 which had a significant output now stored in the National...
- School Staff 
 521. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills with regard to the Gaeltacht learning period grant for primary ITE programmes, to consider the implementation of a similar grant model for...
- Schools Building Projects 
 523. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on a new primary school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16900/25]
- Teaching Qualifications 
 524. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is aware that students who undertook the graduate diploma in physical education at Portobello Institute were under the clear understanding...
- Schools Building Projects 
 525. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 376 and 584 of 5 November 2024, with the report in relation to the extra funding requested for the...
- Special Educational Needs 
 526. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to address the lack of supports for single working parents of children with autism (details supplied) during school holidays, as they rely on...
- School Staff 
 528. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the quota system in operation for the allocation of SNAs; if she will ensure that the recommendation made by a Louth-based SNA...
- Education Policy 
 530. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on her plans to deal with the issue of grade inflation and will she consider allocating a quota of CAO places reserved for...
- Special Educational Needs 
 531. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to detail the investment of SEN classes across Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown over the past five years, specifically to detail the supports that now...
- School Transport 
 532. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a school transport scheme for a family (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17382/25]
- Disadvantaged Status 
 534. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 435 of 1 April 2025, the process that was used to determine the DEIS status of a school (details supplied);...
- Special Educational Needs 
 535. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the expansion of the autism class in a school (details supplied); when the expanded class is expected to be operational; and if...
- Schools Building Projects 
 536. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the progress of the new extension at a school (detail supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter....
- Special Educational Needs 
 537. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps being taken to ensure that communication between NCSE and her Department’s building unit is operating effectively given the...
- School Staff 
 540. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to address an issue regarding a contract for a teacher (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17444/25]
- Special Educational Needs 
 541. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17449/25]
- Public Sector Pensions 
 543. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to provide school caretakers with access to the single public service pension scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter....
- Schools Building Projects 
 544. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of delays in relation to the construction of a new school campus (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the...
- Insurance Coverage 
 547. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills how she will remedy the issue of rising insurance premiums for schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17466/25]
- Schools Building Projects 
 548. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when her Department will make a determination regarding plans for the new school building at a school (details supplied) which have been with her...
- Special Educational Needs 
 550. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 that has now been identified at primary and secondary school...
- Vacant Properties 
 551. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has any vacant or derelict buildings in Dublin-Rathdown; to provide the addresses of these buildings and details on the length...
- School Transport 
 552. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the options available for a child (details supplied) to get to school where there is no Bus Éireann school service available; and if she...
- Education Policy 
 553. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a breakdown of current DEIS schools within the Drogheda school planning area (including the location and name of school)....
- State Examinations 
 561. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps her Department is taking to ensure that this year’s Leaving Certificate students are not at a disadvantage as a result of her...
- School Accommodation 
 562. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a derelict and unsafe prefab at a school (details supplied) will be removed as it has become unsafe and is no longer fit for purpose. [17518/25]
- Departmental Meetings 
 563. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has been in communication with the Department for Social Protection as part of the interdepartmental working group tasked with assessing...
- School Staff 
 564. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will intervene in the staffing appeal case lodged by a school in County Clare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the...
- Special Educational Needs 
 565. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a school place for a child (details supplied) with additional needs be made available for the school year 2025/2026; and if she will make a...
- School Transport 
 567. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the annual cost of transporting children with additional needs to special classes or special school settings from Dublin 2 in each of the...
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