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 place when it comes t…
TDs / Helen McEntee
Helen McEntee
Minister for DefenceMinister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
245,309
words spoken in the chamber
245,286 as a minister, 23 as a TD
321
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
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Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 806 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 58 |
| March 2025 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 69 |
| May 2025 | 45 |
| June 2025 | 32 |
| July 2025 | 38 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 8 |
| October 2025 | 13 |
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| February 2026 | 28 |
| March 2026 | 32 |
| April 2026 | 2 |
| May 2026 | 161 |
| June 2026 | 34 |
| July 2026 | 65 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 50 |
| October 2026 | 54 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 727 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Meath East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Education 23 January 2025 to 1 May 2025
- office Minister for Education and Youth 2 May 2025 to 18 November 2025
- office Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 18 November 2025 to now
- office Minister for Defence 18 November 2025 to now
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 Department tells me there is …
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 school between the three …
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 the demographic data.…
-----and finish their schooling in the area they are currently in. Of course, any issues around transport and so on have to be addressed.
The Government is fully committed to ensuring that every child has a positive school experience and is supported to reach their full potential. Key to that is making sure we have the teachers, not just at primary level but also at post-primary level, and that teaching staff in schools are qualified, engaged and supported in the work they do.
As with all sectors, there are recruitment challenges in some, but not all,…
On the Deputy's final question, that work is under way. I hope to see it implemented or progressed in the coming months. I am very aware that while it will not resolve matters, it is will support the provision of additional allocations or teachers. It is very important to me that we do not just support the teachers in schools but also that we have more coming through colleges. I will be working closely with the Minis…
Perhaps I should have said at the outset that teaching is an attractive career. That is reflected in the fact that there has been a significant increase in the number of people who have applied to become teachers and who have registered with the Teaching Council. The increase of 13% and 17% in both primary and post-primary allocated teaching posts reflects the fact that we committed to increasing the overall number o…
I acknowledge the work and role of the educational welfare officers who work within the educational welfare service. Their key focus and objective is to ensure every child attends school regularly and receives the minimum education to which he or she is entitled to and deserves. It is a really important role, particularly given that the rate of absenteeism has increased significantly since Covid. It has increased not…
Regarding the 23 vacancies, 34 positions were approved only last year, so there is obviously momentum. I expect the posts to be filled within this year. The vast majority of counties have zero vacancies. My county, Meath, has zero, as do Tipperary, Wexford, Kerry, Mayo, Clare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Cavan, Roscommon, Monaghan, Carlow, Longford and Leitrim. They have also their positions. In other counties, there ar…
I thank the Deputy. There are often varied and complex reasons why a young person is not in school or needs support from an education and welfare officer. The only way we can deal with this is through everybody working together. That means the schools working with the programmes provided by the Tusla education support service. There is also an opportunity outside of school. I see a real opportunity, now that responsi…
Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta, as an gceist sin a chur. As the Deputy rightly mentioned, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to expand opportunities for pupils and students to attend Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí. I intend to prioritise the publication of a new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. The policy, together with an action plan, is currently being developed and I…
I thank the Deputy. In order to inform the development of the policy, there has been a comprehensive public consultation and it is important that we get the views of all stakeholders who have a say in this. That is key to informing what we do next. One of the issues that has been raised with me regularly relates to the development of Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí. We need to cast the net a bit wider and consider a…
I am committed to ensuring that parents, students and young people have that choice. In our county of Meath, we can see the huge number of developments and, in particular, the number of Gaelscoileanna that have been built in recent years in the south of the county. We also have established Gaeltacht areas, of which we are all proud. When children go to post-primary school, I want them to have the choice of moving to …
I thank the Deputy. The expansion of capacity at special schools is an important priority for me, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan and my Department.
I know this is an absolute priority for the Deputy and indeed for Councillor Burgess. Both of them have raised this consistently with me. The Deputy raised it when he became a Member of the House and when I entered this position. I wanted to acknowledge t…
I understand the provision of the modular accommodation of the four classrooms was to cater for the immediate need but that it is included and is part of the 18, so the need is 18 and that is the absolute commitment by the Department. It will obviously take time as this will require planning. The most important thing now is we can move on to those stages and then get to construction so students will benefit from this…
I would be happy to visit and would certainly love to meet the whole school community and see at first-hand the wonderful work that is being done. I stress it is the intention of the Minister of State and I to get to a position where we have the capacity we need for every young child to be able to attend school, to attend a school that is most appropriate for them and that this can be done in the most timely manner s…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist sin a chur. I fully support the important role Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí play in the promotion of the Irish language. We have committed very clearly in the programme for Government to expand opportunities for pupils and students to attend Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí, to establish more Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí where there is demand and also, of course, …
It is clear from the statistics we have many more Irish-medium primary schools than post-primary schools. We will be conducting a survey shortly with primary schools to get a clear assessment of whether we have that figure right or whether we need to do more. I want to ensure that will feed into the possible demand and increased need for post-primary schools or Gaelcholáistí. It is about providing choice. It is about…
I am aware that there has been engagement in the Cherrywood area, not just regarding primary but also post-primary schools. Decisions are yet to be made. The most important thing is that we do everything we can to provide choice and opportunities for young people. That is exactly what I am committed to.
The programme for Government sets out very clearly that we need to do more. As I mentioned in an earlier response,…
I thank the Deputy. The most important thing is that we continue to invest in our schools and support our teachers to be able to provide the best education possible. We know in certain settings that the fewer pupils there are, the more targeted a teacher can be and the greater attention and focus they can give to pupils. In that regard, the Government is investing a record €11.8 billion in education and schools throu…
Thankfully, we have a growing young population and it is important that our investment in our young people and education grows with us. That is why we have seen the capital budget increase and have the highest overall education budget. That has allowed us to make the progress I referenced when it comes to reducing pupil-teacher ratios and increasing the number of teachers.
In 2016, the ratio was improved by one and …
I know how important it is for a young teacher to be able to get a permanent contract. It has implications in terms of looking for a mortgage and buying a home or car. It is absolutely vital that teachers can get a permanent contract. I have spoken to the TUI about that this week. I want to make sure that we do everything possible as I develop a new workforce plan to support the recruitment and retention of teachers,…
I thank the Deputy for his question. assure him tackling educational disadvantage and supporting children to fulfil their potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and youth. As the Deputy will know, the DEIS programme is a really positive key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. There has been a massive investment in recent years. A total of €180 mi…
I want to ensure every young person gets the support they need, particularly those who need additional support, be it through the DEIS programme, DEIS plus or any other way because we know it works. The gap in retention rates between DEIS and non-DEIS schools have halved from 16.8% to 8.4% since the programme began. We know that focus and targeted intervention works. It is about how we make sure more children benefit…