218. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the supports that are being put in place for schools to tackle the issue of unexplained absences, which accounted for 43% of recorded absences in Cork secondary schools in 2023/2024. [53659/25]
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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Showing questions asked by Ken O'Flynn .
389 questions match, newest first.
219. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will report on the outcomes of the multimedia campaign on school attendance launched with Tusla Education Support Service, and whether her Department has set attendance targets to measure its effectiveness. [53660/25]
220. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if Tusla will expand resources for its Education Support Service in Cork, in view of the increase in secondary school absenteeism reported in the agency's own data. [53661/25]
221. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth how Tusla categorises and verifies "unexplained absences" in school attendance data, and what proportion of these cases receive follow-up engagement with families. [53662/25]
293. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will outline her Department’s position in circumstances where schools require pupils to wear uniforms but are not affording reasonable accommodation to children with additional needs or sensory sensitivities; the recourse available to parents in such situations; and if, further to Circular 0032/2017 on school uniform costs, she will consider is…
300. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth her Department's working definition of the terms 'man', 'woman', 'male' and 'female' as used in official Departmental documents, policies, teaching materials or curriculum guidelines; if she will confirm whether these definitions are consistent with biological and legal definitions applied elsewhere in Government policy; and if she will make a stateme…
301. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the redeveloped primary school curriculum, and the associated well-being strand, includes any definitions or references to gender identity, gender expression, or related terminology; if so, to provide the full text of such references; and if she will clarify whether these references are consistent with biological definitions of sex recognised in me…
302. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will confirm whether schools are instructed, formally or informally, to prioritise biological definitions of sex when teaching about puberty, reproduction, and human development; the way in which her Department ensures consistency between educational content and established medical and legal standards; and if she will make a statement on the ma…
303. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has consulted medical authorities, such as the Medical Council of Ireland or the HSE's clinical programmes, and legal authorities, such as the Attorney General's Office, when framing definitions or guidance relating to the terms 'man', 'woman', 'male' and 'female' for use in curriculum development or school policies; if she will prov…
482. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the timeline for the introduction of the revised primary school curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51770/25]
483. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the additional funding being provided to schools to support the implementation of the revised primary school curriculum, by teacher training, classroom resources and administrative supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51771/25]
484. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures her Department is putting in place to address the potential increase in workload for teachers arising from the revised primary curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51772/25]
485. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of teachers and school leaders consulted in the development of the revised primary curriculum; the form such consultations took; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51773/25]
486. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps being taken to ensure that the revised primary curriculum adequately meets the needs of children with special educational needs and those in disadvantaged schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51774/25]
487. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the supports that will be provided to rural and smaller schools to implement the revised primary school curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51775/25]
488. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has conducted an assessment of the risks associated with the rollout of the revised primary curriculum, including teacher capacity and resource gaps; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51776/25]
489. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the evaluation framework that will be used to measure the effectiveness of the revised primary curriculum once introduced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51777/25]
274. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps taken since 1 September 2025 to address reports from parents of suspensions and inadequate provision at a designated special school in Cork; the dates of any inspections carried out since that date; the number of additional SNAs and specialist teachers allocated in response; and the timeline for the completion and publication of a full compl…
58. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update on the additional accommodation application submitted by a school (details supplied); the reason for the delay in granting approval despite the application being with her Department for over two years; and if she will prioritise the matter given the lack of adequate facilities is preventing local children, including those …
239. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average daily minutes available for lunch in primary and post-primary schools for 2022 to 2025, with the distribution (median, inter-quartile range), by school; to confirm whether her Department has minimum enforceable standards for time to eat a school meal; and if not, the reason why not, given international evidence that 30 minutes seated eatin…
240. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools that lack kitchen facilities to prepare or safely reheat meals on site; and to provide a capital plan with timelines and budget to achieve minimum kitchen capacity standards, by county. [49466/25]
788. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will address the ongoing issues regarding school transport provision in the areas of Whitechurch, Blarney, and Upper Glanmire; the immediate measures being taken to ensure that children attending schools (details supplied) can access school bus places for the 2025-2026 academic year given that a number of families in these areas have been unabl…
837. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider extending the home tuition scheme, or the introduction of alternative departmental supports, to allow qualified teachers to provide educational provision for students who are unable to attend mainstream school due to school refusal or the lack of an available school place, through the establishment of educational hubs, where a sma…
838. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department holds figures for the number of children currently availing of the home tuition scheme; if so; if she will provide these figures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45717/25]
850. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the body that has overall responsibility for the operation of the school transport scheme; the role of her Department and the role of Bus Éireann in the delivery of the scheme; if she will report on the adequacy of capacity and the number of eligible children who were unable to secure a seat for the current school year; and if she will review the elig…