414. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department receives regular reports from the National Council for Special Education on the deployment, vacancy status and allocation of behaviour support practitioner posts across special schools; if so, the frequency, format and content of such reports; and if not, the reason no such reporting mechanism is in place. [32572/26]
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 .
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415. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether a centralised dataset is maintained by her Department, or on its behalf, recording the filling of behaviour support practitioner posts, including appointment dates, commencement dates and weekly hour allocations by school; and if so, if she will provide details. [32573/26]
416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth to confirm, based on information available to her Department, whether the behaviour support practitioner post allocated to Carrigaline Community Special School, Cork has been filled; and if not, the current status of that post and the expected timeline for the delivery of supports. [32574/26]
417. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth what governance and oversight arrangements are in place to ensure that behaviour support practitioner posts approved for special schools are filled and operational within a defined timeframe; and whether any service-level targets or performance indicators apply. [32575/26]
418. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total number of behaviour support practitioner posts approved by the National Council for Special Education for special schools nationally; the number currently filled; the number vacant; and the average time from approval to commencement of service. [32576/26]
603. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether the NCSE behaviour support practitioner post referenced for a school (details supplied) has been filled; the date the successful candidate was appointed; the commencement date the practitioner will begin delivering supports; the exact number of hours per week the practitioner will be assigned to the school, including confirmation as to whether…
604. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total number of suspensions imposed; the total number of suspension days issued; the average duration of suspensions in days; the suspension rate per 100 enrolled students and the number of suspensions falling into each duration band of one day, two–three days, four–five days, six–ten days, and over ten days for each of the past five academic year…
103. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether the Interdepartmental Group established to examine historic child sexual abuse in primary and secondary schools has completed its work; whether its report has been furnished to Government; and whether a decision has been taken regarding the establishment of a redress scheme for affected survivors. [14639/26]
1355. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the rules and conditions governing job sharing arrangements for primary school teachers; to clarify whether teachers who are job sharing are permitted to undertake substitute teaching in other schools during the period in which they are not rostered for duty in their own school; and if so, the safeguards or restrictions in place to ensure the scheme …
266. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of a child in Cork (details supplied) that has been without a school place since October 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23327/26]
664. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reasons for the recent closure of a school (details supplied), including the dates on which the school has been closed; the formal health and safety or other legal powers relied upon by the patron or board; and any directions or guidance issued by his Department to the school or patron in relation to this closure. [18751/26]
665. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether she is satisfied that the prolonged closure of a school (details supplied) is compatible with the State’s constitutional obligation to provide for the education of every child and with statutory duties in respect of children with special educational needs [18752/26]
666. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the specific measures she will put in place to ensure that a special school cannot again be closed for an extended period because of behavioural incidents or staff injury, including mandatory contingency and continuity-of-education plans for all special schools; clear national protocols favouring partial or phased provision rather than full closure; a…
667. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether she will introduce binding national guidelines on the management of dysregulation and high-risk behaviour in special schools, including positive behaviour support, trauma-informed practice, and de-escalation approaches, with monitoring and compliance mechanisms; and if so, the timeline for their development and implementation. [18754/26]
668. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the risk-assessment, occupational health and staff support frameworks that will be mandated in all special schools in order to reduce the risk of staff injury while maintaining children’s access to in-person education; and whether these frameworks will be subject to regular independent review. [18755/26]
669. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the long-term corrective actions being implemented in a school (details supplied) to address the underlying causes of dysregulation and staff injury, including changes to class sizes and staffing ratios; additional specialist and substitute staff; enhanced training, in-school therapeutic supports; any environmental or infrastructural works; and if she…
670. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth to commit to a time-bound, fully resourced action plan for a school (details supplied), co-designed with parents and staff, with clear milestones, reporting requirements and accountability structures to restore and sustain safe, full-time education for all enrolled pupils; and if she will publish this plan. [18757/26]
671. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department has assessed the extent to which shortages in therapeutic supports and specialist staff in special schools contribute to increased dysregulation and health and safety incidents; and if so, the national measures she will introduce to ensure that all special schools have adequate therapeutic and behavioural supports to prevent fut…
672. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the assessment, if any, which was carried out of the impact of the closure of a school (details supplied) on the rights of the child, including the right to education and to equality of treatment for children with disabilities; whether any child-rights or equality impact assessment was completed; and if she will publish any such assessment. [18759/26]
673. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether she accepts that prolonged denial of in-person education for a cohort of highly vulnerable children with complex needs, through the closure of a special school, would not be considered acceptable in a mainstream setting; and the steps she will take to ensure parity of treatment between children in special schools and those in mainstream school…
674. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth to commission an independent review of the circumstances leading to the closure of a school (details supplied) including consultation with parents and staff, with a view to making system-wide recommendations on how the State can better vindicate the educational rights of vulnerable children and avoid similar situations in future; and if they will publ…
675. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth state whether they are satisfied that parents of pupils attending a school (details supplied) have been provided with timely, accurate and sufficient information on the reasons for the closure, the expected duration, and interim educational arrangements; and if not, what minimum standards on communication will the Department now put in place for paren…
676. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth to outline what interim education provision (including home tuition, outreach teaching, temporary placements, remote or blended supports or other measures) is being put in place for pupils of a school (details supplied) during the closure; how these supports are being allocated and accessed, and how the Department is ensuring that these children’s rig…
828. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to statements from the National Council for Special Education that special class places are available in Cork, to clarify the number of vacant and immediately available special class places currently in Cork; the names of the schools where these places exist; the type of special classes involved (for example autism classes or other specialist …
829. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children in Cork that are currently awaiting placement in special classes for the upcoming school year; the way in which this number compares with the number of vacant places identified by the National Council for Special Education; and the steps being taken to ensure that children without placements are offered appropriate places withou…