Helen McEntee

I look forward to working with the Deputy on this project and many others. As she knows, the Department approved the additional school accommodation project for St. Brigids School Cabinteely. The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority and a design team has been appointed to progress the project through the necessary architectural stages of design, statutory approvals, procurement…

There are often different reasons projects are delayed. It is not always the fault of the Department but there are often design, planning or funding issues. It is important to make sure that funding is managed throughout the year. There are only so many projects that can be progressed at a certain time. The focus and priority is always where additional accommodation is needed. More than 100,000 pl…

-----it sets out timelines for the different stages and how long they should take.

We could look at putting a system in place on the engagement that would then take place with schools when they go beyond the timeline.

This is a commonly occurring theme. I am sorry.

Insofar as possible, where there are new builds or where schools have to be moved, the Department always attempts to keep some of the play space and to make sure it is not completely taken. The Department also ensures play areas are part and parcel of the development of new builds, be it PE halls inside the school or covered areas for children to be able to use in bad weather or if they do not hav…

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. Reform of the leaving certificate senior cycle is the right thing to do. This is something that will benefit students. Nobody I have spoken to, including those who have concerns or who requested that this be delayed, has said we should not progress this, because everybody acknowledges it is the right thing to do. That is why I am committed to ensuring …

There is much more in train, which I will outline. A significant amount of work is already under way in that regard.

This is not accelerated. This is something that was committed to ten years ago and it has taken until now to get to the point where it is going to start in September. Given the momentum I have mentioned, it is important we make sure it starts but that we support teachers, unions and students in making sure it happens in the best way possible and that students benefit from it. A number of things h…

-----they use it in the most appropriate way, and that they learn as well when they are using it.

I am absolutely committed to working with teachers and their unions to ensure we get this right. Today, following weeks of engagement with all the unions, I invited the ASTI and the TUI to engage intensively to see what more I can do to support them. Everything I outlined here, from the training and funding that is being provided, the papers that have been outlined, the further training that will …

I thank the Deputy. While the provision of clinical therapy supports to children is the responsibility of the HSE, it is the Government’s ambition to make sure therapies are provided in schools. This was committed to in the programme for Government and it is to build on the work being done through the Department of Education, with a number of teams already in place within our schools through the e…

While I cannot give the Deputy a timeline for the doubling of places, I know it is being worked on directly by the Ministers, Deputies Lawless and Carroll MacNeill. The more quickly it can happen, the more quickly we can fill our places overall. The change on qualifications is work that has just started, so the focus and priority have been on outlining what the therapy service will look like and …

This is about building capacity and the thing that has come to me most in recent weeks, when engaging with parents and children about what they want, is that they want the place that is most appropriate for them, although that can be different for every young person and student. It might be a special school, a special classroom in a mainstream school or a mainstream place with additional supports.…

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The school transport 2030 report, which was published in early 2024, marks the largest review of the school transport scheme since it was established in 1967. We are committed to working to achieve the report’s recommendations of expanding access to the scheme in order that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030 and to continue to improve the…

I thank both Deputies. I acknowledge this is very stressful for many parents, families and children. It is an issue we are all dealing with. I am dealing with it in my constituency as well. I refer to where there is no particular bus route in place or where parents are looking to see how the criteria might change and how soon we can implement it. While I cannot give the Deputies all those details …

What I can say is we are working on things now. While I cannot set out now whether there will be changes or what possible changes might take place this year, I can say the pilots are under way and we are evaluating them. We are also looking at other potential measures that might be applied for this coming year. This must depend on the resources available. There is a very clear commitment in the pr…

I stand in support of this motion of confidence in our Ceann Comhairle. It is hugely regrettable that we are faced with this situation in the House this evening - a motion that has come about because of the prolonged attempts by Opposition to obstruct this Dáil and the Government from getting on with their business. Every single Member of this House was democratically elected back in November. Thi…

Is mian liom mo chuid ama a roinnt le mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Ward. Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí as an rún atá curtha chun cinn acu agus tá áthas orm an deis a fháil labhairt leis an Teach faoin ábhar tábhachtach seo. It is timely, with Seachtain na Gaeilge in full swing, to remind the House that we should all endeavour to use the Irish language insofar as we can and as is possible. I i…

I look forward to working with all colleagues, particularly in this area. I thank the Deputy for asking this question as it is an important and live issue, in particular for students who will sit the leaving certificate in the years ahead. It is for this reason that, in the last few weeks, I have met nearly all the unions and representative bodies representing teachers, principals, schools in gene…

I think our stakeholders have outlined a number of things clearly. First, they want to ensure teachers feel appropriately trained and equipped because they want to ensure they are giving their best and students get the best outcomes. A number of training programmes have been developed and delivered already and my intention is to try to intensify that and provide even more supports and resources fo…

The most important thing here is that students benefit from the updated curriculums. In order to support teachers, I have asked my Department to intensify engagement. There are meetings happening on a weekly, if not biweekly, basis to ensure we look at how we can provide more and additional training, to ask if more resources need to be provided, to look at how we ensure that clear guidance is in p…

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I appreciate, particularly in areas of huge growth, how important it is to have an adequate number of schools and schools adjacent to and near where students are living. That is the most important thing. My Department has a robust forward planning process which considers population and enrolment data. When it comes to the Dublin 15 area, the Departmen…

I will outline the capacity that exists in that area. Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School was established for 1,000 pupils. It has 848 pupils enrolled at present. Edmund Rice College, which was established for 1,000 pupils, has 813 pupils enrolled at present. An extension planned for Castleknock Community College will provide approximately 200 additional places. That is essentially a schoo…

The reason that Ériu Community College is moving back is that there are 1,000 pupils moving out of the Mulhuddart-Tyrellstown area every day to attend other parts of the school. I appreciate the Deputy's point that other parts of the community are expanding and growing. The Department has to plan ahead looking at the data it has and is available. To plan for school provision, you have to look at t…