Questions

1228. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of hours of the additional in-school time provided for under public service agreements were used nationally for continuous professional development in each of the past three school years; the proportion of this time that was allocated to training in special educational needs, student wellbeing and behavioural or emotional support, and sub…

1229. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the continuous professional development currently provided to support teachers in managing increasingly complex classrooms, including cultural and linguistic diversity, mixed-ability teaching, trauma-informed practice and behavioural support; the number of teachers who have participated in such training in each of the past three years; whether she c…

1230. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department has conducted a national survey, audit or questionnaire of schools and principals to assess teachers' professional development needs, capacity to access continuous professional development and priority training areas; if not, whether she will commit to establishing a formal needs-assessment process; the proposed timeframe for …

1231. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth the mechanisms in place to measure the effectiveness and outcomes of Department-funded continuous professional development; whether data is collected on the impact of such training on classroom practice and student outcomes, particularly for pupils with additional and special educational needs; the details of any evaluations carried out in the past …

1232. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department has set participation targets or benchmarks for teacher engagement in continuous professional development; if so, to outline those targets; if not, whether she will commit to establishing national benchmarks, particularly in the areas of special educational needs, behavioural support and wellbeing; and if she will make a state…

1233. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the schoolbooks scheme can be examined to take account of schools, particularly post-primary schools, that use chromebooks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1691/26]

1234. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the school extension works for a school (details supplied); the date on which works will begin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1705/26]

1235. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the severe accommodation pressures currently facing a primary school (details supplied), which has expanded from a two-teacher to a three-teacher school. [1771/26]

1236. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the date on which a supplementary estimate or supplementary estimates was sought in respect of her Department’s Vote for each of the past ten years, and to the date in 2026; the gross and net amount involved in each case; and the Vote subheads to which each supplementary estimate related. [1790/26]

1237. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the value of expenditure originally allocated in the Estimates to specific programmes or staffing measures that could not be spent as planned within the year for each of the past five years; and whether such underspends were surrendered, carried forward, or reallocated to other areas within the Vote. [1811/26]

1238. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review correspondence (details supplied); if it is possible to extend the school transport bus service referred to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1837/26]

1239. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will ensure that a permanent appointment will be made at an early date in respect of a position (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1845/26]

1240. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current status of the application by a school (details supplied) under the additional accommodation scheme; when a decision will issue; if it can proceed to the next stage, as the works are urgently needed by the school and its pupils; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1849/26]

1241. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current status of the multiple applications by a school (details supplied) under the emergency works scheme; when decisions will be issued in each case as the works are urgently needed by the school and its pupils; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1850/26]

1242. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a school (details supplied) will be permitted to progress from stage 2b of the additional accommodation scheme for a new building; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1851/26]

1243. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding an extension for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1865/26]

1244. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth the amount of the special education budget used for reading recovery, expressed as a value and as a proportion of the special education budget, in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [1877/26]

1245. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any product or service purchased from Israel or the Occupied Territories by her Department in 2025, broken down by description and amount paid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1978/26]

1246. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department, or any body under its aegis, has funded, or is funding, other than where legal costs were awarded against the employer by a court or tribunal, the legal costs of any current or concluded litigation taken by an employee or former employee against that Department or body, in each of the past five years; if so, to provide detail…

1247. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth the basis on which her Department, or a body under its aegis, may fund the legal costs of an employee or former employee in litigation where that employee is in dispute with, or taking proceedings against, the same body; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2036/26]

1248. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether the funding of employee legal costs in disputes against her Department, or a body under its aegis, is standard practice; if not, the circumstances in which such funding may be permitted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2054/26]

1249. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth to outline the guidance, codes, circulars or directions that govern the payment of legal costs by her Department, and bodies under its aegis, in employment-related disputes, including any requirements under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies or Departmental sanction arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. […

1250. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether the funding of employee legal costs in litigation against the employing body could give rise to governance, accountability, or value for money concerns; whether her Department has issued any guidance in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2090/26]

1251. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department has reviewed, or intends to review, the practice of Departments, and bodies under their aegis, funding legal costs in employment disputes involving those same bodies; and if so, the outcome or timeline for such a review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2108/26]

1252. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether arrangements to fund legal costs in employment disputes involving her Department, or bodies under its aegis, require the prior approval of her Department or the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2126/26]