Parliamentary questions

237. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider renaming the leave of absence following assault scheme to more appropriately reflect the complex and unintentional nature of incidents in special education settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36887/25]

238. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will allow for special school staff such as caretakers, cleaners and bus escorts to be paid under the online claims system, in order to reduce the administrative burden on schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36888/25]

239. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will allow for special schools to receive a substitute teacher when a teacher takes self-certified sick leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36889/25]

240. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department will conduct a review into the school transport requirements from Ballon, County Carlow to a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36902/25]

241. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the national anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann, is included in the primary or post-primary curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36909/25]

242. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider reopening a school (details supplied) under new patronage, considering that there is a sufficient demand of children in the area, and the closure of the school is a great loss to the community; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36957/25]

86. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to the pilot programme for counselling services in seven schools, whether the programme has been formally evaluated; and if so, when the outcomes will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36496/25]

87. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether, following the pilot programme for counselling services in primary schools, she intends to roll out counselling supports to all schools nationwide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36497/25]

88. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans in relation to educational assessments; specifically, if she intends to review the use of standardised tests in light of evidence demonstrating their significant limitations in accurately assessing children with complex needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36244/25]

89. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); if she will instruct their Department to ensure that schools are allocated the appropriate number of SNAs, in order to ensure that children receive an adequate level of care and that school staff can perform their duties without any undue stress; and if she …

90. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Youth if an issue can be addressed in relation to school transport (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36292/25]

91. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the circumstances in which a school (details supplied) is disposing of its premises for a reported €5 million and is to be accommodated in a publicly owned education building at another location; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36312/25]

92. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of issues impacting a school (details supplied) regarding the minority works grant; if she has any plans to increase funding for the grant and to improve the grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36321/25]

93. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of teacher upskilling programmes for STEM subjects such as maths, physics and chemistry which were run in each year since 2018; the location of each course; the cost of each course; the number of teachers who completed each course; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36328/25]

94. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department plans to address the gaps in teacher data whereby the number of STEM teachers in employment in schools across the country is not collated by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36329/25]

95. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the increase in the capitation grant to a school (details supplied) given on a “once-off” basis in 2024 will be paid again in 2025 and thereafter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36351/25]

96. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Education and Youth in light of the exponential rise in the cost-of-living index since 2005, when the block grant for a school (details supplied) was set, if she plans to increase this block grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36352/25]

97. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth when a decision will be made on an appeal for a child (details supplied) for the home-based summer programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36384/25]

98. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Youth to overturn her Department’s decision to refuse an exemption to rule 64(1) for the 2025-26 school year in the case of a pupil (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36390/25]

99. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the work of her Department in completing the transfer of outstanding functions to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; and when this transfer will be completed. [36391/25]

100. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Education and Youth the impact of the special schools redesignation on a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36406/25]

101. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the changes coming in under the redesignation of special schools will come into place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36407/25]

102. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average waiting time for a child with ASD to be allocated a place in a special class, including the length of time children are waiting on their local school’s SNA and resources list; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36446/25]

103. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of general learning disability classes currently being provided at both primary and post-primary school level throughout the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36474/25]

104. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth at a national level, the number of children with Down syndrome currently enrolled in five distinct settings (details supplied). [36475/25]