Helen McEntee
Meath East · Fine Gael · Ireland
“There are no new missions, so there is only so much we can partake in. In regard to UN requests over the past ten years, in September 2019, we had 14 Defence Forces personnel deployed to a UN mission in Mali as part of a joint operation with the German armed forces.”
“I thank the Deputy for his continued engagement on this matter. It is appreciated and I reaffirm our shared commitment to truth and justice, not least for Private Rooney, but in particular for his family.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I know he is committed to this issue; I am too. I have in recent months spent some time travelling to different barracks and Army bases and meeting with personnel. What I see all over the country is their professionalism, dedication and commitment.”
“I disagree that people are being pushed into the courts. The situation is exactly the opposite. I have said in the Chamber many times since I started taking these questions that the State Claims Agency is there and wants to mediate and work directly with people in order that cases do not go directly to the courts.”
“We are all committed to strengthening recruitment to and supporting retention in the Permanent Defence Force. The military authorities have advised that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,823 personnel on 31 May, the most recent date for which we have a figure available.”
“It is the case that no mission is the same, so it is also a matter for the Defence Forces to assess and scope out the mission and then to decide whether it is a mission we can partake in. A question keeps being asked about what it is we would not be able to be a part of if we were to keep the triple lock.”
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“The first tranche of approvals under this scheme is due to be announced probably in the next two weeks. That will be a scheme that will apply and will see funding provided across all the different constituencies and we have another tranche as well. There are a number of ways in which schools can engage with the Department. Funding has been secured for the next round of NDP and it is important that schools know they are able to avail of these types of grants specifically for the reasons the Deputy mentioned.”
“Maybe I can engage with the Deputy further on the particular school. Where repairs need to be made to existing playgrounds or play spaces and certainly where there is a danger for students, schools may apply under the emergency works scheme or indeed the minor works scheme. I am pleased that under the new national development plan, NDP, funding will continue to be available for the emergency works scheme and the minor works grants. It is really important that as many schools as possible can avail of that. Over the years we have seen significant investment in schools and we need to make sure that is spread out and shared evenly across the schools. The climate action summer works scheme provides a mechanism for schools to make small-scale improvements to school buildings but that also applies to outdoor spaces.”
“In terms of providing further funding for the outdoor spaces, we are investing to support curricular delivery and well-being across schools by prioritising the development of PE halls and sporting facilities in conjunction with the sports capital fund to deliver for both schools and communities. The climate action summer works scheme, along with the emergency works scheme and the minor works scheme, provides a mechanism for schools to make small-scale improvements where they have facilities that need upgrading.”
“Since 2020, my Department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the NDP, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. A total of 111 of these were large-scale school projects, all of which included extensive accommodation, including outdoor play areas. In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026 to 2030. As others also will, I will publish an implementation plan in that regard. My Department’s plan will optimise outputs from the allocations with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money and meets functional needs.”
“Co-operation between schools and the local sporting organisations in sharing their sporting facilities provides opportunity to apply for sport grants including the sports capital grants administered by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. In recent years there has been huge encouragement of schools and communities in particular working with sporting clubs to have joint applications in that regard. The provision of capital funding for outdoor recreation facilities is just one way in which we support increased physical activity. The redeveloped primary curriculum specification for physical education extends the time available for PE with a particular emphasis on community partnerships and the use of the outdoor environment generally.”
“Investment and expenditure on sports facilities in both primary and post-primary schools is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the schools building programme. Practically all schools have outdoor play areas although I accept that many of them vary depending on the different schools. Many schools use adjacent local community facilities and we encourage the dual use of different facilities that are close to each other. The provision of outdoor play areas forms part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school.”
“We need to make sure that we are doing everything to support those teachers in what can often be a challenging but really rewarding and a really important school environment. I am very much open to looking at how we can support those working in the schools and whether there are changes or introductions of new posts or levels that we can provide that would take some of that pressure off and support those schools in different ways.”
“I acknowledge the Deputy's absolute commitment to supporting our special schools and supporting children with additional needs. Working with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, I was really pleased to have been able to secure additional funding in the budget. There was an anomaly there when students reached the age of 12 that they were not receiving the capitation funding that other students in mainstream schools were getting. It is important that was levelled and that anomaly was changed. The Minister of State and I are open to looking at further ways in which we can support our special schools and support the staff in the schools in particular. Yesterday I was in Cara Community School, a new special school opened in my constituency with fantastic staff and teams there.”
“We are doing this survey in the way that we have done because previously any surveys that were done were done on a smaller scale and they did not work as effectively. We have to take that into consideration in any type of survey or any type of engagement with post-primary schools. Certainly it is something that we need to keep open. We need to engage with schools, parents and communities on the matter and I am very much open to that.”
“While this survey is for primary schools, this will last for six weeks and then we will need time to collate that information and decide based on the responses where there needs to be further engagement with communities if there is a demand for change. On the issue of patronage, there is not the same breakdown that we might see in primary schools. About 50% of our post-primary schools are denominational and about 50% are non-denominational. However, I accept that in certain areas that is not the case and there is not as much choice for parents. There is validity in looking beyond this survey and potentially looking at certain areas to survey or to engage parents and see if there is a demand for particular changes in those areas.”
“While there are not the same percentages for post-primary schools - it is about 50:50 at the moment on patronage between multidenominational and denominational - there is potentially an opportunity after this survey to see whether there is demand in certain areas, where there is maybe a more skewed percentage, to do something similar or to ask those questions of parents as well.”
“Do we want to see a greater increase or level of provision for our Gaelscoileanna? That will, hopefully, support and complement the two new strategies I am launching later this week. In relation to patronage, 95% of our schools have a religious ethos. The majority are Catholic in ethos, others are Church of Ireland, there are a small number of other schools and 5% are multi-denominational. Do we have a desire and demand from parents to provide more diverse opportunities for different types of patronages? It is very important that as many people as possible take this survey. I encourage, within the Deputy's constituency and others, parents and guardians to take this survey so we get a clearer picture.”
“The whole objective of this survey is for the Department, for the first time, to get a clear understanding of what it is that parents want in education provision for their children. The curriculum is the same and is taught the same irrespective of what school they are in, but for all of the other areas I mentioned, we have not ever had a survey of this kind where we are surveying parents of over 800,000 young people. It is important we get that information. To give some context, the number of young people in co-educational schools is at 90%. Only 10% are same-sex schools, so that question perhaps only applies to a smaller number of people. The number of young people in our schools who are being taught through the medium of Irish is at 8%, so 92% are being taught through the medium of English.”
“I was pleased to be in a position to officially launch the new online survey for our primary schools today. This essentially enables parents and guardians of children in primary school, and of those who will attend primary school, and the teachers, staff and boards of management in our primary schools, to take part in a survey. There were three very simple and straightforward questions in the survey: whether people want their school be single sex or co-educational; whether they want their child or children to be taught through the medium of English or Irish; and whether they want their school to have a denominational or multidenominational ethos or religious or non-religious patronage.”
“I also compliment both schools in question, including the principals and all of the teachers, and the community national school in particular, because I appreciate they are on the grounds of a football pitch. They have worked really well with the local community and GAA team as well, but they are working within a confined space. My absolute priority, and similarly for Coláiste Ríoga, which is working on a temporary site, is to get them into their permanent accommodation as quickly as possible to make sure the students who are there benefit from that permanent accommodation.”
“Over the past five years alone, 1,300 projects have been progressed. These are new schools, large-scale projects, additional accommodation projects and emergency works projects. There have been 1,300 projects over the past five years. That is €6 billion that is being spent right across the country. Looking at the work that has been done, I compliment the work of the building unit and the team in the Department because we and they are a team that can deliver a significant amount of work within the budget we have. Obviously, the more money we have, the more schools we will be able to build. We now have a budget of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth out to 2030. My intention is that as many projects as possible will be moved within that overall budget I have.”
“It is just to move on to this final stage. Once we get to that stage, the community, and the school community in particular, will be informed.”
“There is nothing unusual or different in this project. I cannot fully commit to the reasons other contractors pulled out. Perhaps there was other work they were doing and there was too heavy a load. Again, we cannot change the reasons for it. We can just make sure that the work is being done now to make sure the next stage can be moved onto as quickly as possible. There are no delays at present. It is a matter of going through the different stages, including the paperwork and the information that has been provided. The next stage is to offer the letter of acceptance, which then means we can start the building, get the builders on-site and move along with these projects, which is something the school community wants to see happen. I am absolutely committed to this. To be clear, the funding is there. The money is ready to start the project.”
“It is again important to stress, and I think the community realises this, that there were a number of issues more recently in terms of the tender. The fact that contractors withdrew meant the timelines that had been set were, unfortunately, delayed. However, we are still on track to be able to start this project as soon as possible.”
“This is not something that always happens but, unfortunately, in this instance, it did. The letter of intent then issued to the third tenderer on 15 August - only in the past few months - and subsequent discussions regarding reserved specialist contractors are almost concluded. These schools will meet a rising demand for school places in the Dunshaughlin area, which has seen increased residential developments, and will respond to what is a very clear need within both communities. My Department will continue to keep the school authorities informed with regard to getting construction commenced on this urgently required project. I hope we will be able to make progress in the very near future. We are coming towards the end of that current stage.”
“The major building project for the schools referred to by the Deputy, Coláiste Ríoga and Dunshaughlin Community National School, are part of my Department's employer-led design programme and will be delivered as a campus project, providing additional school places to meet the needs of the growing population. This campus will deliver a new primary school, which includes two classrooms for children with special educational needs. It also includes a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school, including six classrooms for children with special educational needs. These projects progressed to tender on 12 December 2024 and the tender period closed on 26 February. After due diligence was carried out and discussions with contractors, the companies that placed first and second withdrew their tenders.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am conscious and aware of both schools. I regularly visit schools, including the two the Deputy has mentioned. My Department has a strong focus on provision for school place needs, underpinned by robust forward planning including demographic analysis informed by residential development plans. Dunshaughlin is an area that has seen significant growth. It will continue to see that growth, thankfully, in the years head. Under the NDP, my Department's approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance while, of course, providing the necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project roll-out over the course of the period 2026 to 2030 to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.”
“I cannot do everything at once. What I have said clearly is that I am willing to look at every measure. In fact, I have met with the unions many times. My teams engage with them regularly on all of the issues that the Deputy has outlined but he is talking about giving teachers an opportunity to move from Dublin to other areas when it is clear that the shortages are in Dublin and some of the larger populated areas. We have to take every issue into consideration when we are making changes to any structure or resource that might be in place. We also have to look at whether the options that the Deputy is talking about would assist us in bringing more teachers into the system. I am keen on supporting the ones who are there and making sure that we have more people coming into the profession as well.”
“I think I have been clear as Minister that nothing is off the table but I have also shown that I am willing to take action on certain measures. Reducing the length of time for permanent contracts was the first one. Only in recent weeks, I made sure that people who have qualified abroad can have their skills recognised here, and I am doing it for a longer period and potentially putting that on a more permanent footing.”
“Patrick's Day this year and I met with many student teachers - is that many of them are coming home. Many of them are spending that time away and want to travel and to experience other jurisdictions, but they are also coming home because they want to come home and they want to teach in our schools.”
“Where teachers currently are proficient in two subjects, they are now able to upskill free of charge in certain areas and in particular subjects where there are difficulties such as physics, chemistry or science subjects overall, maths, computing and other areas where we have identified a particular shortage. Likewise, reflecting the previous question about the Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí, there is work under way to support teachers in making sure that they can upskill and become more proficient so that we do not have such a shortage. However, I appreciate that is a challenge and we are looking at lots of ways in which we can support teachers. What I have said is that I will continue to look at possible ways and measures by which we can encourage more young people home. What is clear - I visited Australia for St.”
“One of the first things that I did, and this was directly in response to an ask from the unions, was make changes to ensure that teachers were able to gain permanent roles more quickly, after one year as opposed to two. That was one of the first asks that I had. It was one of the first things that I did and I have said that I will do more. The Deputy mentioned the fact that there are certain subjects, in particular in post-primary schools, where there is a greater challenge in identifying teachers. I have provided more upskilling programmes.”
“With the changes to the overall public sector pay agreement, I believe we have competitive salaries compared with other jurisdictions. To address some of the challenges, and perhaps I will come to this in my second contribution, one of the first things that I said as Minister I wanted to do was determine how we make sure that we encourage more teachers into the system, how we keep the teachers we have and how we make sure we are supporting them in the best way possible.”
“To address these, several targeted measures that have been implemented have led to an increase of 20% in initial teacher education graduates between 2018 and 2023, an increase of over 30% in the number of teachers registered with the Teaching Council between 2017 and 2025, and an increase in allocated teaching posts of 11,752 between the 2018-19 and 2024-25 school years. There are more qualified teachers than ever. The increase in the number of allocated teaching posts has outpaced population increases, with over 79,000 teachers now employed in our schools. We are continuously looking at our data and how that matches what was reflected in the demand in our schools. Teaching is a highly attractive profession. We still have strong demand for teacher education programmes, with 3,600 newly qualified teachers registered in 2025 alone.”
“This Government is fully committed to ensuring that every child has a positive school experience with access to qualified and engaged teachers who are completely dedicated and committed to supporting their learning. It is fair to say that we have a fantastic cohort of teachers who are committed to just that. Over 97% of allocated teaching posts are filled and the number of unfilled allocated posts in DEIS or rural schools is comparable to that in all other schools. The data, which is based on our payroll, is not suggesting that there is a massive discrepancy between DEIS, rural schools or any other area. We have a rate of 97% of posts filled. As with other sectors of the economy, recruitment challenges exist, which I acknowledge. In particular in certain parts of the country, most notably Dublin, there are still challenges.”
“This is supporting the work through An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, COGG, which has established a unit specifically within my Department to see how we support schools, support teachers, make sure they have the resources and make sure that Irish is being taught in a way that young people are enjoying it. That is clearly the message that I am getting through and it is something that I really want to see that we can make progress on.”
“Later this week, I will publish two new strategies, one for Irish in English-medium schools and another for Irish being taught in the Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí. They will be launched on Thursday of this week. The focus and the priority there is how to make sure that the language is enjoyable, that it is being taught well in the schools and that there is support for the schools. That is to build on the work that is already happening. Work is at an advantaged stage, as I said, on the new strategy. There is an action plan for Irish in English-medium schools as well as Irish in the Gaelscoileanna and coláistí.”
“I assure the Deputy there is no inertia or lack of will to support young people studying the language. I was in a school yesterday and was asked this question by a student. I want students to enjoy studying the language and, most importantly, speaking it. On the figures, it is important to say that in the 2024-25 school year, there were over 19,000 exemptions. That is higher than we would like. At the same time, given the number of Ukrainian students who have come into the system, about half of those are students who have come from abroad. Not every Ukrainian student or anybody else coming from abroad is getting an exemption, but it is a far higher number and there are also a significant number of young people with special educational needs. That being said, there is more we need to do.”
“Even though the number of students attending post primary has increased by 4.7%, we have not seen a relative increase in the number of exemptions. It is about half and half, so it is evenly distributed between the number of students with special education needs getting exemptions and the number coming from abroad. That is generally the breakdown we are seeing.”
“In relation to the curriculum, a number of subjects saw a slight reduction in the time allocated to them but there is more flexibility within the time schedules, so schools can increase the number of hours provided for Irish or the time spent on Irish. The overall figure for exemptions at primary school level is extremely low. It fell from over 18,000 maybe five years ago to just over 12,000 in the 2024-25 school year. The proportion of primary students with an exemption in the same period dropped from about 3.25% to 2.2%. Of exemptions at primary level, 93% are granted to students with special education needs. I accept the number of exemptions at post primary level has increased, but we are seeing that exemptions have steadied.”
“My Department will continue to review the system and make adjustments as deemed necessary. We have also engaged with schools on the issue of exemptions and plans to enhance understanding among schools, students and parents of the purposes and criteria of the exemption system. Aithníonn an Rialtas an tábhacht a bhaineann le córas oideachais láidir chun tacú le gach scoláire rochtain a bheidh acu ar an nGaeilge agus ar an gcultúr Gaelach agus go bhfuil ról suntasach ag an oideachas in athbheochan agus cothabháil na Gaeilge sa phobal. Leanfaidh oifigigh agus gníomhaireachtaí na Roinne le hathbhreithniú agus athchóiriú foghlaim agus teagasc na Gaeilge chun na críche sin.”
“Is ar an chúis seo go bhfuil an Ghaeilge ina croí-ábhar sa churaclam do scoileanna aitheanta. Students should be given every reasonable opportunity to participate in the learning of Irish for as long as possible. Normally, it is in the interests of the child to continue to study Irish to at least fifth or sixth class level before any decision is made to grant an exemption. That is reflected in the overall number of exemptions at primary school level, which has dropped over recent years. Circulars were published in September 2019. This was informed by an inspectorate review of the previous circulars and following a detailed and comprehensive consultation process. The inspectorate report is also available online. The 2019 circulars were further adjusted following a further review, resulting in the current circulars.”
“Tá gealltanas i gclár an Rialtais an Ghaeilge a chosaint agus a chur chun cinn. In education this includes the work towards aligning Irish language curriculums with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR, to enhance spoken Irish. This work is being led by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. In certain circumstances, a primary or post-primary student may be granted an exemption from studying Irish. The criteria are governed by Department circulars and decisions are made at school level. The circulars make clear that, for fundamental cultural and historical reasons that are inextricably linked to Irish identity, the study of the Irish language is a key aspect of the learning experiences that are considered appropriate for students in recognised schools.”
“The DEIS plus programme should be able to help us understand what is at the crux of some of the issues young people face. Complementing this - and it is very much part of the DEIS and DEIS plus schemes - is the focus on absenteeism. In DEIS schools - primary schools as well - there is a much higher rate of absenteeism. If children are not in school, no matter what we put there, we cannot support and target them. The work we do to encourage young people into school and to keep them there and support them will complement the work of DEIS and DEIS plus.”
“I fully agree and am eager to get this published as soon as possible and get these measures in place. The Deputy mentioned certain things and we are looking at all the things that have been asked of the Department. I am assured the asks are based on the understanding, knowledge and experience of our schools, principals, teachers and, particularly, the children who will benefit from this. I point to the huge success so far of the DEIS programme. We have seen in recent years a reduced gap in the retention rates between DEIS and non-DEIS schools. It has halved, which is fantastic. For the number of young people in DEIS schools sitting the leaving certificate now, that gap has reduced significantly. Where we need to do much better is around the overall attainment rate in those schools.”
“On the Deputy's point, where there is intergenerational disadvantage and challenges for the young person, the community and the family, we will look to support the community, family unit and student involved.”
“Shortly after being appointed to the role, I met with a large group of principals, deputy principals and people working in schools where there is educational disadvantage and they were clear they needed this scheme brought in as soon as possible to support and complement the huge amount of work they are doing. On identifying schools, we will not require schools to apply for inclusion. We will use a methodology to identify schools and look at evidence to inform us, including census 2022 data, HP deprivation index data and other available relevant data. We will take that into consideration and apply it to certain schools across the country in different cities and towns. The process will focus on delivering a commitment to support schools with the highest level of educational disadvantage.”
“What we are doing at the moment is essentially looking at what the different measures that have been identified are, where the greatest level of need is, what we could introduce in the earlier stages and how can we grow on that. Obviously €16 million is not going to provide us with the full DEIS plus scheme we will inevitably end up with. However, we will start to introduce certain elements of that scheme next year and build on it. What we are working on at the moment is identifying what will provide the greatest level of support at the earliest stages possible and on how we can build on that and develop the best scheme possible.”
“On that group, we have quite a number of different people, including principals, home school community liaison teams, school completion programme co-ordinators - people who work with students day in, day out and understand and know the need that is there - individuals from my Department and teams working with young people from across areas where there is high intergenerational disadvantage. We are also intensifying our engagement with other Government Departments and agencies, whether education partners or stakeholders across the education sector to develop the DEIS plus scheme. What I said was that I wanted to have both the new DEIS scheme with DEIS plus published by the end of the year. We are still on track for that.”
“As Minister, I am determined to close the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and to introduce more innovative solutions to tackle educational disadvantage while at the same time making sure we invest more in what is working well because there is a huge amount that is working well. Part of delivering this objective will be the introduction of the new DEIS plus scheme. This scheme will provide additional resources to schools with the very highest level of need. To inform the development of the DEIS plus scheme, I have established a design advisory group.”
“I thank the Deputy. Tackling educational disadvantage and, in particular, supporting students to fulfil or achieve their full potential in life is a key priority for me. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level and it is important to acknowledge the success it has been over recent years. More than €180 million is provided annually to additional supports for almost 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme. Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16 million this year on top of that which will translate into €48 million in additional money for the next full year to support the implementation of a new DEIS strategy but also to introduce the new DEIS plus scheme which will start next year.”
“While we are still working with and managing the data, we are getting a much clearer picture of what the demand is. Last year there was not a requirement for children to have presented to the NCSE by a certain date, which was in February, to get access to a class but it is now a requirement. Children who would earlier on in the year have been unknown to the NCSE are now known, and so we are getting a much clearer picture of what the demand and need is. That will include the overall demand and need for the early intervention classes.”
“To answer the Deputy's previous question, and rolling into the next one, the Department looks at, reviews and assesses the level of need and that includes the early intervention classes. The new timeline and the new structure we have put in place will look not just at the demand for a special class place or special school place but also at the potential demand for the early intervention classes. The 1 October deadline has passed and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I are working with the NCSE every week and are meeting on a regular basis to look at the overall demand that is there. We are not going to lock anybody out and it is really important to say that. We have a deadline there for a very clear reason, which is to make sure we and, in particular, the NCSE are able to plan ahead but of course we want to work with parents.”
“At the moment, we have 159 early intervention classes with three newly sanctioned for this year. Again, they are to supplement where the ECCE and AIM schemes are perhaps not providing enough support or are not adequate for those young children for whatever reasons. It is really important particularly at that age where for young children, it is play-based learning. It is not that we want children in school from the age of three; it is that we are trying to support as many young children as possible in the early education years. However, where it is not working, that is where I am absolutely confident and clear that the early intervention classes are supporting those children and are very necessary.”
“Where a need is identified through engagement with the NCSE, this is where early intervention classes are opening. To give context - the Deputy will forgive me but I believe my figures from the Minister for children are right - approximately 96% plus of young children between the ages of three and five are accessing the ECCE scheme. Those children, without having to do any means test or assessment, are able to avail of the AIM scheme as well. That leaves fewer than 4% of young children who perhaps are not accessing ECCE and who perhaps for different reasons are not getting or are not able to avail of the level of support they need. That is where the early intervention classes work really well. I have been in some of the classes local to me and I can see how beneficial they are.”