877. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department intends to introduce in-school multi-disciplinary teams, including psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and behaviour support workers, in SEBD schools (details supplied), where the need is particularly acute and the current reliance on external CDNT services is proving insufficient and inco…
Parliamentary questions
Questions
TDs ask ministers questions to get answers on the record, most of them in writing. Here is every one asked in the 34th Dáil, by the department it went to and the subject heading it was filed under. How questions work
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2,188 questions match, newest first.
878. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department will commit to a full audit of the current building housing a school (details supplied), with a view to securing significant refurbishment funding or facilitating a move to a new fit-for-purpose building, given ongoing safety concerns raised by the school's management. [59837/25]
879. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth the additional measures her Department will introduce to ensure that staff working in social, emotional and behavioural difficulties designated schools have access to appropriate, on-site mental health supports, given the high-risk and high-stress nature of their work. [59839/25]
880. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review pay and allowance structures for teachers and SNAs in SEBD-designated schools, in light of the fact that staff in such settings face significantly higher-risk working conditions than those in mainstream schools but do not receive any additional allowance, unlike teachers in secure units or detention centres. [59840/25]
881. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps her Department is taking to address the recruitment and retention crisis in SEBD-designated schools, particularly given the absence of structured mental health supports, salary differentials, and growing levels of burnout and staff turnover. [59841/25]
882. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has considered establishing a dedicated staff support framework for those working in SEBD-designated schools, similar to that available in secure or custodial education settings, to ensure adequate protection, supervision, and wellbeing supports. [59842/25]
883. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider producing a policy for the Irish language in the youth work sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59856/25]
884. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the importance of the role played by mild general learning disability schools in the mix of schools; if she will protect their status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59857/25]
885. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has issued guidance to schools regarding the use of preferred pronouns and names for children identifying as transgender; if parents or guardians are required to be informed or consulted before such changes are made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59858/25]
886. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has reviewed the available clinical evidence relating to social transition in children, including the use of preferred pronouns and names in schools; and the safeguarding measures which are in place to ensure that school practices are consistent with evidence-based child welfare standards. [59859/25]
887. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the guidance which is provided to teachers on the use of gender pronouns in the classroom; the way in which her Department ensures that teachers are not placed in positions of conflict or undue influence in matters relating to a child's gender identity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59860/25]
888. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the guidance or direction her Department provides to primary and secondary schools regarding the use of bathrooms and changing rooms by pupils who identify as transgender; whether schools are required to allow a child to use the facilities corresponding to their gender identity where gender-neutral options do not exist; and if she will make a statemen…
889. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the way in which schools are being supported to balance respect for all students with safeguarding responsibilities and parental rights in cases where a child requests to use a different name or pronoun; her Departments current policy on this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59862/25]
890. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department will ensure that teaching materials on gender identity presented in schools include balanced information reflecting both the experiences of those who have transitioned and those who later detransition; and the oversight mechanisms which are in place to safeguard children from one-sided or ideologically driven materials in the classro…
891. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review school curriculum materials and textbooks that discuss transgender or non-binary identities to ensure that a balanced and evidence-based perspective is presented, including information on individuals who later detransition and the potential long-term and irreversible effects of medical or social transition; and if she will make a st…
892. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she has reviewed the findings of a review (details supplied) which recommended an abundance of caution in the approach to gender-questioning children; and the way in which her Department is ensuring that Irish schools adopt a balanced, evidence-based approach to gender identity issues in line with child safeguarding and wellbeing principles. [59865…
893. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the way in which her Department ensures that guidance on gender identity in schools is balanced and evidence-based; the person or body accountable if a child introduced to gender dysphoria or related ideology later experiences regret or detransition-teachers, school boards, patrons, or her Department; the support or recourse which is available to fami…
894. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps being taken to ensure that all curriculum content, school toolkits, and guidance on gender identity are balanced, evidence-based, and child-safeguarding focused, in view of the findings of a review (details supplied) and increasing reports of detransition; the way in which her Department ensures teachers and schools do not unintentionally pr…
895. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has reviewed the HSE Busy Bodies booklet, which is distributed to 5th and 6th class pupils as part of the SPHE curriculum, in particular the sections referencing gender identity; whether parents were consulted before this content was included; the way in which her Department ensures that educational materials provided by external age…
896. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the way in which her Department ensures that all guidance provided to teachers, including marking schemes and curriculum toolkits, prioritises balanced, evidence-based education, reflects the broad interests of pupils, and respects child safeguarding and parental rights; and the steps her Department is taking to ensure that curriculum content, school …
897. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the way in which the National LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Strategy Action Plan 2025-2026, which states that bullying of LGBTIQ+ young people will be prevented and addressed through the implementation of Cineáltas, will be monitored and evaluated; the specific measures, training, or curricular materials being introduced in schools under this objective; whether p…
898. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the budget allocation for the implementation of Cineáltas under the National LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Strategy Action Plan 2025-2026; which schools, staff, or external agencies are responsible for delivering the programme; the oversight, monitoring, and evaluation mechanisms in place to ensure the initiative is age-appropriate, evidence-based, and respects p…
899. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has undertaken any review or assessment of current practices in Ireland regarding the care, support, and guidance provided to children experiencing gender dysphoria, in light of the findings of the Cass Review in England, which recommended an abundance of caution; and the steps being taken to ensure that Irish practice in both HSE se…
900. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth what steps are being taken to implement the findings of the National LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Strategy 2024-2028 consultation, which highlighted the need for measures (details supplied). [59874/25]
901. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth her current position on gender identity education in primary schools, in light of statements made by the former Minister for Children (details supplied) that primary school children should be educated about what it means to be transgender and that children under 16 might have pathways to self-declare their gender identity; and the steps Departments ha…