Helen McEntee

I move: THAT it is expedient to amend the law relating to inland revenue (including value-added tax and excise) and to make further provision in connection with finance.

I was really pleased to launch the new primary school curriculum this week, something that has been developed for many years in consultation with schools, teachers, parents and also with young people. There is no miscommunication or confusion. We are very clear as to what is in the curriculum. There is a greater emphasis on physical health but there is an emphasis on making sure we support young p…

At the outset, I acknowledge the unbelievable work our principals do in our schools, the teaching they provide and the way in which they manage their schools. Of course I want to see more funding invested in education. Every cent we spend on a young person is not only an investment in their future but also an investment in our future. We have increased the capitation over the last number of budget…

I welcome an opportunity to provide clarity for people in this regard. Three things are happening at the moment. First, myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, have made very clear that we will change the timelines by which SNAs are allocated. It is not good enough that on the day before they start school, children do not know whether they have an SNA or not. We are making it very clear…

The third thing is around actual SNA allocation. No changes are being made to the criteria. The way in which they are applied now is the way in which they will be applied in the year ahead. I want to be really clear on that.

No.

I move: That, notwithstanding Standing Order 222 of the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business or the Resolutions of the Dáil of 1st April, 21st May, 16th June and 25th June, 2025 the following Further Revised Estimates for Public Services for the year ending 31st December, 2025, be presented to the Dáil and circulated to members on 23rd September, 2025, being a date later th…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that the Government agreed on 10th September, 2025, to propose, for the approval of Dáil Éireann, the appointment or reappointment, as the case may be, of the persons concerned to be members of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, and pursuant to sections 9 and 10 of the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015, approves the appointment of Simon Barry and William …

I am pleased to be here today, with the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, who has responsibility for school transport in the Department, to share an update on school transport. As the House will be aware, the school transport scheme is a hugely significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the current school year already almost 178,000 children and young pe…

The NCSE is the national agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. This year, the NCSE has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming school year, bringing to 3,742 the number of special classes in our schools. There are new classes in every county in Ireland and, with the number of special classes doubling in the last five years, this now means that there ar…

Since we last spoke at the committee, significant progress has been made. Every week, the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I, meet with the NCSE to make sure that more places are being offered. Just under 3,300, as I said previously, were notified before the February deadline. The number after that, to be honest, is changing. Every week, more children are coming to the attention of the NCSE…

I utterly reject the suggestion that parents are being gaslit. There has never been as much engagement with parents through the NSCE to support them. I accept that a small number of children still do not have their places. We are working on that. We will work all summer to make sure they have their places allocated to them. Parents and schools are being engaged with throughout all of this. The Dep…

Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services is the strategic framework for the youth work sector. It was published in September 2024. The purpose of the strategy is to provide a platform for an effective, data-driven and joined-up approach to the delivery of youth work and related services. The implementation of the strategy will be reported on via the Young Irel…

I acknowledge, as the Deputy has, the fantastic work done by our youth workers. So much of it is unseen, and it contributes. We have spoken here many times about challenges in school and making sure children are in school. Youth workers in particular support bringing people back to school and making sure they are happy and they are active. My role and my intention, now that youth is under the remi…

There is a body of work still to do on just this and identifying where are the gaps. This is separate work that is happening in the Department on mapping exactly where the services are and what types of services are being provided. This is so we can identify where the gaps are and link up better with the education portfolio and identify what resources are needed. I want to make sure current fundin…

In line with the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, my Department is committed to improving the teaching and learning of Irish in primary and post-primary schools. I share the Deputy's concern. We all went through school and would like to have better Irish than we do. While there are no plans to make attendance at a Gaeltacht summer course mandatory, my Department is mindful that we need a f…

I mentioned a strategy that is being developed. The plan is to finalise that in the coming weeks. It builds on extensive consultation that took place at national and school stakeholder levels between January and May of this year. We met almost 200 participants at a national level and over 500 participants at school level. The consultation showed that, exactly as the Deputy pointed out, children an…

The Deputy is right that the current requirement for the mandatory tréimhsí foghlama sa Ghaeltacht, the Gaeltacht learning periods for primary initial teacher education programmes, is the two-week placement. This is outlined in the Teaching Council's policy, entitled "Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education". The funding was provided for that in budget 2020. The grant rate is set at about €8…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 87 together. My Department has a strong track record of delivery. Since 2020, we have invested more than €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of more than 1,400 school building projects. It has provided almost 100,000 additional and replacement school places, significantly increased p…

I acknowledge the significant work that goes into any construction project. I acknowledge that, for a lot of principals in schools, this does not happen overnight. It takes many years of initial working with the Department to get that approval, identifying the design team, and going through the design stages and the various pieces of work that have to happen. Insofar as possible, the Department's …

We had a similar scenario in my constituency with the same company where there was a school almost built. I am pleased to say that, similar to the Deputy's own, the school is built and the students are there. It is a fantastic complex for them. We always need to look at how we can improve the structures that are there. There is certainly a level of expertise within our ETBs, but also within the D…

The schools photovoltaic, PV, programme provides eligible schools with up to 6 kW peak of roof-mounted solar PV installations on their roofs, which equates to approximately 14 solar panels. The schools PV programme is funded by the Government’s climate action fund in line with the Government’s recognition that taking action on climate change is central to Ireland’s social and economic development.…

I agree fully with the Deputy. We should be getting to a situation where all our schools and public buildings have solar panels, insofar as is possible. This will feed into our overall reduction and climate targets but also will support our schools in reducing their costs. This is one of the biggest challenges we currently face in making sure we identify ways schools can reduce their costs. It is…

I accept what the Deputy is saying. It is not always the case that a fee-paying school has infinite resources. However, it is the case that some schools do have the ability to pay for this. It is about looking at the resources we have and ensuring everyone can benefit from the changes which will not just help support our climate objectives but also help reduce costs. In the time I have left, I wi…

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this matter. This is an important pilot programme that has been rolled out. My Department is committed to supporting the emotional well-being of our children. In 2023, the establishment of a €5 million pilot programme of counselling and mental health supports for primary schools was announced. In budget 2025, the pilot received additional funding which has allowed…