Questions

502. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Education and Youth regarding the Student Absence Reports (SAR) 2023/2024, the number of the 1,265 suspensions at primary level which were in DEIS schools; the number of the 11,627 suspensions at post-primary level which were in DEIS schools; the number of the 27 expulsions from primary schools which were in DEIS schools; and the number of the 150 expulsions from post-p…

503. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the teacher allocation will be reviewed for a school given the allocation for next year will result in higher teacher to pupil ratio and split classes (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45686/26]

504. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether discretion can be applied in the reduction to 2026-2027 teacher allocations in a school (details supplied) who will be required to host multi-grade classes for the coming school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45709/26]

505. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Education and Youth if schools with two special classes are eligible for funding for a designated playground area, for the specific use of students in these special classes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45715/26]

506. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Education and Youth the funding schools can avail of to build a playground or a sensory area for children in a special class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45716/26]

507. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if all allowances recently restored to teaching staff in primary schools and special schools under Circular 0054/2026 will be extended to all teaching staff working within post-primary schools; if she is aware of the disparity currently affecting post-primary teachers appointed after 2012 who are excluded from the allowance; and if she will make a s…

508. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Education and Youth to respond to correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45731/26]

509. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 356 of 12 February 2026, the date the new school (details supplied) will be completed and open for students. [45736/26]

510. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Youth the rationale for the sequencing of the Leaving Certificate appeals process and the CAO offers process in 2026, whereby the provisional date for the release of Leaving Certificate appeal results is 25 September 2026, after the issue and acceptance deadlines for rounds one to four of CAO offers; whether she has assessed the risk that students whose grad…

511. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a route can be added to the pilot scheme for school transport (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45764/26]

512. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on her Department’s work to reduce class sizes in primary schools. [45767/26]

513. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has plans to reduce class sizes in the upcoming school year. [45768/26]

514. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has reviewed the impact of class sizes on student outcomes; and the effect reduced class sizes would have. [45769/26]

515. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will engage with the family to ensure the child in question can secure a school place. [45796/26]

516. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the first year and full year cost of hiring an additional 1,000 primary school teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45801/26]

517. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of unfilled teaching posts in Dublin north west; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45802/26]

518. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the recent Leaving Certificate honours maths papers; if she acknowledges that the 25% uplift was introduced to encourage more students to choose honours maths but if papers are exceptionally difficult as reported this year, this will run counter to the reason the uplift was introduced; and if she will make a statement on the matt…

519. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that in the recent Leaving Certificate biology examination, the exam booklet credits a website (details supplied) for making diagrams for the exam and that this is an AI generation tool for biology questions; her views on students’ assertion that some of the diagrams, notably the one on meiosis and mitosis, were incorrect; if …

520. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total number of pupils, by category, primary, secondary, special school and so on, that were issued tickets under the school bus scheme for the 2025-2026 academic year; and the way in which that compares to each of the previous four years. [45876/26]

521. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that the mandatory subjects for junior cycle vary between school (details supplied); if there are plans to address this to ensure students are not put under undue pressure or disadvantaged in exams; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45911/26]

522. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that schools who appeal their exclusion from DEIS Plus are asked to look back on their primary online database (POD) data for three years to support their case but, in practice, they only have access to one year’s information due to data restrictions on the system; if this is something she will address to ensure full access to supp…

523. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total number of staffing appeals submitted by primary schools in each of the past five years, by the outcome of those appeals, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45918/26]

524. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider greater flexibility with the pension abatement for post-primary teachers by extending the 50-day waiver, with a view of helping schools find substitute teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45942/26]

525. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason a school (details supplied) was not permitted to advertise immediately for a newly approved SNA vacancy arising from the recent review; to confirm whether this post was intended to take effect immediately or from September 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45946/26]

526. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the specific trauma-informed training that is in place for Departmental staff tasked with dealing with applicants and querists under the survivor supports work in relation to the supports available for survivors of residential institutional abuse; if a policy is in place in relation to the need to minimise the number of requests made of s…