Darren O'Rourke

I have a later question that should have been grouped with this question. Will the Minister address the issue of artificial intelligence as a concern among those in the education sector?

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important issue for discussion tonight and the Minister of State for being here. This is a familiar issue which is frustrating for residents and business owners in the area of Duleek, Donore and surrounding areas. The issue is creaking water infrastructure leading to water bursts all too frequently. They are unscheduled and in many cases are for many …

The solution is the immediate prioritisation or fast-tracking of the Staleen water treatment plant to Windmill Hill reservoir project. I want to put a couple of points on the record. A public meeting is scheduled on this issue for tomorrow week, Thursday, at 8.30 p.m. in the Duleek-Bellewstown community centre. I would encourage representatives of Uisce Éireann and the Minister or Minister of Stat…

Anyone interested in the issue will have heard the Taoiseach's previous answer in regard to SOSAD Ireland, which the Minister of State handed to him, ten times over. That reply does not answer the question he was asked. I will ask it again. The question relates to interim funding to keep the doors open on these vital services between now and when SOSAD Ireland can continue to engage in the long-te…

34. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on children and education and disability will meet next. [8320/25]

I raise the research published today or yesterday by the ESRI, which shows the crucial role of the school completion programme in supporting student attendance and engagement and highlights staffing and funding challenges. Among the major issues highlighted is the lack of referral pathways into therapies. Will that be looked at with a view to potentially delivering school-based therapies? Second, …

Can I call for a quorum? We do not have a quorum. We need five in the Chamber. Is that the case? I think it is. It is an important debate.

I want to return to the issue of Garda numbers, as I often do, in regard to County Meath. County Meath is the county with the lowest number of gardaí per head of population, something which has been the case for a long time. By way of comparison, in 2009 there were 315 gardaí in County Meath, with a population at that time of 172,000 people. At the end of 2024, there were 316 gardaí, one more gard…

Mo bhuíochas leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh as an rún seo a chur faoi bhráid na Dála. Tá mé ag labhairt mar urlabhraí oideachais mo pháirtí, ach níos tábhachtaí arís, tá mé ag labhairt mar thuismitheoir páistí ar mhaith liom go mbeadh oideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge acu. Teastaíonn an deis sin uaim do mo phaistí féin ach freisin do gach páiste. I nDomhnach Seachnaill, áit a bhfuil cónaí orainn, tá an …

1. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education if she is aware of the concerns raised by school leaders in relation to the accelerated roll-out of senior cycle reform; if she accepts that the accelerated timeline does not allow enough time for essential preparations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8924/25]

As this is the first ministerial questions session, I wish the Minister and Minister of State the best of luck in their roles. This is a very important time and I hope we can make progress. Is the Minister aware of the concerns raised by school leaders with regard to the accelerated roll-out of senior cycle reform, if she accepts that the accelerated timeline does not allow enough time for essent…

I welcome the fact that the Minister has met stakeholders. It is important that she meets all of the stakeholders in the sector at the earliest opportunity. If she has met them, she must surely have heard their concerns. I have not heard that reflected in her response thus far but they will have detailed them to her. They relate to a range of areas, principally capacity and preparedness, whether i…

We have spent more time identifying those issues than on spelling out exactly what the timeline will be between now and September for teachers, in the main, and, related to that, for school communities, parents and, most important, students embarking on this new programme from September, if that is the timeline. That detail has to be spelled out to school communities and school leaders at the earl…

3. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education what additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 is now anticipated at primary and secondary school level; what measures she is taking to ensure the necessary school buildings, staff and resources are in place to meet that demand; if emergency measures are expected; and if she will make a statement on t…

I ask the Minister about school places in south County Meath. We will need additional places in Dunshaughlin for this September. What additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 is now anticipated at primary and secondary school level? What measures is the Minister taking to ensure the necessary school buildings, staff and resources are in place to meet that de…

That is the point, and I have not heard from the Minister of State that they will be. The question was about what additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 is now anticipated on the back of that new process. The Minister of State did not answer that question. In fact, he spelled out what we knew already, which is what the Department is planning. How does what…

There is a protest at the Department of Education scheduled for tomorrow. It is a 24-hour sleep-out by parents who are demanding appropriate places for their children. They should not have to do that. It is disgraceful and shameful that they have to. I send them solidarity and tell them that I will certainly do everything I can to keep this on the agenda and to push for an appropriate place for ev…

5. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education to outline her assessment of the teacher recruitment and retention emergency at primary and secondary school level; the measures she intends to address it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8926/25]

Will the Minister outline her assessment of the teacher recruitment and retention emergency at primary and secondary levels and the measures she intends to take to address it?

Will the Minister give us a timeline for those proposals and outline the nature of them? I appreciate that some may require funding. The picture is one of a crisis and emergency. At primary level, there has a shortage of more than 2,500 teachers for the 2024-25 academic year. There are many unfilled posts, and a large number of schools have had to use unqualified staff to cover absences. At secon…

The recognition of experience abroad is important. I encourage the Minister to engage with her colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne, on the housing crisis, which is a major issue for teachers and a major driver when it comes to people leaving the country and not taking up teaching here. In responding to the situation relating to recruitment, we must con…

7. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the current number of full-time equivalent educational welfare officer positions across Ireland, by county, in tabular form; the number of these positions currently vacant; the timeline for filling these vacancies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8491/25]

What is the current number of full-time equivalent educational welfare officer positions across Ireland, by county? How many of these are currently vacant? What is the timeline for filling the vacancies? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister. She mentioned the rate of chronic absence from schools has more than doubled after Covid. More than a quarter of primary schoolchildren and more than a fifth of secondary school students missed at least a month of school days during the 2022–23 school year. As the Minister said, the figure is even higher in disadvantaged areas, with 42% of children attending DEIS primary scho…

I thank the Minister. I believe she will be providing me with the figures. I realise providing figures in tabular form does not always work well when taking oral questions. I am also hearing from school leaders that there has been a shift in protocol in terms of the expectations and demands of schools before Tusla educational welfare officers are engaged. From some of my engagement with school le…