Questions

525. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of applications received, granted and refused by the Primary Staffing Appeals Board from 2020-2025; the criteria used by the board to assess appeals; whether her Department published analysis of trends in primary class consolidation arising from the staffing schedule, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37421/…

526. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number and percentage of students who left post primary education before completing senior cycle in each of the past five years, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37425/26]

527. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the estimated second level school retention rate to Leaving Certificate level in each county in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37426/26]

528. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of students enrolled in post primary education in fifth year; the number completing Leaving Certificate in each county in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37427/26]

529. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of students identified through Departmental retention statistics as leaving post primary education before completion of senior cycle in DEIS and non DEIS schools respectively, by county over the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37428/26]

530. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will expedite a solution to a case within a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37434/26]

531. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of additional staff employed or that will be employed by her Department directly or under contract for the purposes of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026. [37450/26]

532. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has assessed the impact that reductions in ESOL and related community based English language supports will have on primary and post-primary schools in County Donegal, particularly schools with Ukrainian pupils and families who require English language support; whether schools will receive additional English as an additional…

533. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the case of school transport in an area will be addressed (details supplied) and allow for school transport in this case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37590/26]

534. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the application of a 0% VAT rate to laptops and tablets required for educational purposes; if she has engaged with the Minister for Finance and/or the European Commission regarding the possibility of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37610/26]

535. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Education and Youth her Departments position on secondary schools requiring the compulsory purchase of laptops or tablets for pupils in school; if she can confirm that without these devices the school can refuse to provide books as normal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37611/26]

536. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 229 of 5 February 2026, if she will provide an update on her Department’s considerations on the site identified; if she will outline her Department’s plans for the potential uses of this land; if there are no plans, if she will instruct her Department’s officials to engage with school management to discuss the …

537. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Education and Youth the time it takes her Department to process an application for assistive technology for a child in primary and in post primary school; the number of applications for assistive technology received in 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37658/26]

538. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Youth to urgently address a matter (details supplied) and allow for school transport in the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37667/26]

539. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of school days that have been lost nationally and in DEIS primary schools in Tallaght, Dublin 24 to teacher training and in-service days in the past two academic years. [37719/26]

540. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current Department policy on scheduling CPD during term time; and if it includes any exemptions or protections for children with additional needs. [37720/26]

541. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason teacher training cannot be scheduled exclusively outside pupil contact time evenings, weekends or the paid summer period when repeated mid-term closures are causing serious disruption and regression for children with disabilities in schools such as Knockmore, Tallaght, Dublin 24. [37721/26]

542. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department accepts that repeated mid-term closures in schools are having an adverse effect on parents and children who depend on routines due to their sensory difficulties. [37722/26]

543. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of times per academic year primary schools are permitted to close for teacher training and staff days; and if she will cap the number of such closures in order that children, especially those with additional needs, are not repeatedly removed from routine within the same term. [37723/26]

544. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 19 of 23 April 2026, to provide an update on her Department’s review of the scope of works and associated costs in providing an entrance and access way to a site (details supplied); the timeline for completion of access works to the site; if access will be made available ahead of the upcoming 2026-2027 school ye…

545. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth her Department’s position on secondary schools requiring parents to purchase iPads or specific digital devices; the steps she will take to ensure that families are not subject to undue financial pressure; and whether she will review digital learning policies in secondary schools and provide financial support for families. [37730/26]

546. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a candidate applying for a post of responsibility, can offer evidence from outside their immediate school context as evidence of their competence for example service with OIDE, PDST, NCC, other schools or workplaces (details supplied); if so, should this experience be accredited the same scoring as evidence of competency offered within the imme…

547. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of the case of a child (details supplied); and if she will instruct her Department to engage with the family in order that the child’s education is not affected in a negative way. [37739/26]

548. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of a special class for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37790/26]

549. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if it is permitted for a post-primary school to require parents to purchase a specific laptop model from a single designated supplier as a condition of a student’s participation in classroom learning; and if so, the statutory, circular or policy basis for same. [37796/26]