Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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531. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the level of foresight or future planning that operates within her Department; who is responsible for long-term planning; the input these individuals or teams have into Departmental policy and practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61659/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My department published its Statement of Strategy in September 2025. Informed by the Programme for Government, key Government priorities, policy frameworks and other significant issues, along with extensive consultation with stakeholders including children and young people, the Statement of Strategy sets out my department’s strategic vision for the period 2025 – 2028. The Statement of Strategy sets out five goals and 41 strategic objectives necessary to achieve the goals.

My department also published Education Plan 2025 earlier this year which is the annual plan for my department. The Plan is structured around the five education pillars set out in the Programme for Government 2025 . This plan is the mechanism by which my department drives progress on the achievement of its strategic goals.

The Education Plan contains 118 priority actions for delivery in 2025, which demonstrate the breadth of the work programme, and the commitment to delivery across the sector, to ensure that, together with partners, my department facilitates children and young people, through learning, to achieve their full potential.

The Education Plan is measurable and transparent and I published a mid-year progress in September and an end of year report will be finalised in early 2026. Preparations have begun for Education Plan 2026.

As the deputy may be aware, in July of this year I also announced that I would hold a Convention on Education, bringing together all stakeholders in education. The Convention on Education will run from late 2025 through to the end of 2026. The convention will be a once in a generation opportunity for children, young people, parents, educators and wider society to help shape Ireland’s education system for decades to come. Findings from the Convention will inform my Department’s long term strategy on the future of education.