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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“Obviously, that is work done by the Department working hand in hand with many of the schools, principals and boards of management.”
“My objective over the next number of years is to make sure we can provide as much support for our principals as possible, whether it is administrative support or easing the burden of some of the work they are now expected to do and that they perhaps would not have done in the past, while they are, at the same time, managing and, in our smaller schools, also teaching in some cases. Where we can, we will increase the resources and supports available to our teachers. At the same time, we will make sure the resources and expertise of the Department, in particular the buildings unit, are made readily available to our schools when they are needed. As I said, this is not about back-slapping but it is important to stress that a huge amount of work is happening.”
“We had a similar scenario in my constituency with the same company where there was a school almost built. I am pleased to say that, similar to the Deputy's own, the school is built and the students are there. It is a fantastic complex for them. We always need to look at how we can improve the structures that are there. There is certainly a level of expertise within our ETBs, but also within the Department. Our principals and boards of management also have a certain level of expertise, but their job is not to build projects.”
“There is always the need to work within the budget we have. While we have had significant investment taking place for the past number of years, there are 4,000 schools across the country and many of them are old and need upgrading. We also know that, while the population is decreasing in some areas, it is continuing to increase in others. We need to make sure we are still building new schools and creating more capacity. That is exactly what is happening in Cork, not just in primary and secondary, but also in the significant number of special schools that are being developed. Insofar as possible, the Department endeavours to support principals, but we are open to any other proposals or suggestions as to how we can improve that working with schools.”
“I acknowledge the significant work that goes into any construction project. I acknowledge that, for a lot of principals in schools, this does not happen overnight. It takes many years of initial working with the Department to get that approval, identifying the design team, and going through the design stages and the various pieces of work that have to happen. Insofar as possible, the Department's objective is always to support the school. Where there is an ETB, a huge amount of work is often devolved to the ETBs, which identify the design teams. Where that is not the case, there is a structure within the buildings unit in the Department to help identify the design team, support the principal and board of management through the process and make sure as many projects as possible can be delivered.”
“This includes seven new school buildings along with 28 smaller scale improvement projects in the pipeline. The position on individual projects evolves all the time as they advance through various stages. However, Deputies and the schools themselves can look at the status of these different projects, which are set out on the Government website. This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction. The Deputy will appreciate the ones I have mentioned. However, given the volume of information across a large number of projects, many of which are delivered on a devolved basis by individual school authorities, if the Deputy would like more specific information, I can provide it after today because there is quite a long list there.”
“The pipeline includes school building projects in six special schools, of which three are new school buildings, delivering more than 100 new classrooms and modernised school accommodation along with more than 160 projects delivering new classrooms and modernised accommodation for SEN provision in mainstream schools. My Department also announced the opening of a new special school for the coming school year that will be based in Carrignavar and open initially on an interim basis in a Gaelscoil in Fermoy. Additionally, there are more than 80 small-scale school building improvement projects either under construction or in the pipeline in County Cork at this time, through climate action, emergency work and summer works schemes. Within Cork city specifically, 11 projects are currently under construction, with 42 projects in design phases.”
“This includes more than 80 school building projects, approximately 57 completed special schools delivering more than 300 new classrooms, modernised school accommodation, more than 1,000 new classrooms, and modernised accommodation for SEN provision built in mainstream schools. Since 2020, the total capital investment in County Cork schools is in the region of €715 million. This has delivered more than 150 large-scale, additional accommodation and modular school building projects and includes 12 new school buildings. Currently, there are close to 50 school building projects under construction in Cork. There are also more than 170 school building projects in County Cork in the pipeline. These are at various stages of design, of which 19 are for new school buildings.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 87 together. My Department has a strong track record of delivery. Since 2020, we have invested more than €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of more than 1,400 school building projects. It has provided almost 100,000 additional and replacement school places, significantly increased provision for special education and has upgraded and modernised our school infrastructure with new science laboratories, technology rooms, home economics rooms, multimedia suites, mainstream classrooms, special education tuition rooms and special education classrooms. The impact of this will be felt in communities right across the country.”
“If we want young people to have that immersive experience, their teachers need to get the best training possible at every level, not just at primary level. We must make sure that our post-primary teachers have that access as well. It will have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.”
“The Deputy is right that the current requirement for the mandatory tréimhsí foghlama sa Ghaeltacht, the Gaeltacht learning periods for primary initial teacher education programmes, is the two-week placement. This is outlined in the Teaching Council's policy, entitled "Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education". The funding was provided for that in budget 2020. The grant rate is set at about €845 per placement and the cost is about €2.3 million. That is not something that has always been in place and the fund was not available previously but it has now been provided for. Any provision of funding for post-primary teachers would have to be negotiated through the budget. I fully take on board the Deputy's point.”
“That is not what happens in our schools, except for Gaeltacht schools, Gaelcholáistí and Gaelscoileanna. The action plan is looking at how we can create that for young people. Separately, the review of the leaving certificate is happening at the moment. While the specifications for Irish have not been finalised, that work is under way. We have to look at the changes that took place at junior cycle level. We have to learn from those, identify what has worked and what has not worked, and make sure any changes to our leaving certificate senior cycle curriculum encourage, support and make Irish enjoyable for our learners. That is what I have asked the objective to be.”
“I mentioned a strategy that is being developed. The plan is to finalise that in the coming weeks. It builds on extensive consultation that took place at national and school stakeholder levels between January and May of this year. We met almost 200 participants at a national level and over 500 participants at school level. The consultation showed that, exactly as the Deputy pointed out, children and young people wanted to be able to speak Irish. They wanted to be able to speak it outside of school as well. It is important that we have a multifaceted and flexible approach to giving students different opportunities for immersive experiences. The only way to learn a language is to be immersed in it - listening to it, speaking it and hearing it.”
“Under scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, the Irish language learners scheme, a subsidy is payable to qualifying Gaeltacht households providing accommodation for students attending Irish language courses.”
“In consultation with relevant organisations, my Department is exploring how children’s and young people’s use of Irish outside of school can be facilitated through increasing awareness of the opportunities currently available, encouraging student participation in these activities and extending these opportunities, where possible. We are particularly focusing on making it fun and enjoyable and ensuring it does not feel like a challenge, as it does for many children in school. With regard to Gaeltacht summer courses, my Department’s inspectorate provides advice and monitors and reports on matters relating to teaching, learning and general quality. The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht supports and promotes Irish language summer courses in Gaeltacht regions in a number of ways.”
“I intend to publish an action plan for Irish in English-medium schools and commence its implementation. This builds on the work of a new unit established within the Department in 2024 to support the teaching and learning of Irish in schools that function through English. The plan is built on the structure of our earlier Gaeltacht plan, which has really enhanced and strengthened the teaching of Irish in our Gaeltacht regions. I want to make sure that the plan for the teaching of Irish in English-medium schools is just as successful.”
“In line with the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, my Department is committed to improving the teaching and learning of Irish in primary and post-primary schools. I share the Deputy's concern. We all went through school and would like to have better Irish than we do. While there are no plans to make attendance at a Gaeltacht summer course mandatory, my Department is mindful that we need a flexible approach to giving students opportunities for immersive experiences in the Irish language outside of school. These must take into account the needs, preferences and geographical location of students. As someone who attended Gaeltacht courses numerous times when I was younger, I see the many benefits they have for our young people. I support the provision of activities through Irish outside school hours.”
“It is important to support them to upgrade, modernise or identify new spaces, where possible. We must also make sure we have the workers. It is a really important objective of mine to use the workforce plan to identify not only how to attract more people into the profession, but also how to keep the really fantastic workers that are there.”
“There is a body of work still to do on just this and identifying where are the gaps. This is separate work that is happening in the Department on mapping exactly where the services are and what types of services are being provided. This is so we can identify where the gaps are and link up better with the education portfolio and identify what resources are needed. I want to make sure current funding increases as much as possible. There is approximately €85 million between current and capital funding provided for our youth services at present. I want to see this increased, not only from the current perspective but also on the capital side. I think of youth organisations in my own county of Meath. They are doing phenomenal work but they are working in old buildings that were not made for this particular purpose and are not fit for it.”
“There is often an assumption it is more urban areas or more built-up areas where young people need access to services. People living in the most rural part of the country might need access to a service. In the context of the new UBU services, my focus is to try to make sure we have a geographical spread. I will be able to give Deputy Cummins timelines on the various stages of implementation once the plan is fully formed. We are actively working to make sure, between now and the end of when the strategy is set, that everybody knows what they are doing and what their timeline is and making sure, most importantly, that they stick to it.”
“I acknowledge, as the Deputy has, the fantastic work done by our youth workers. So much of it is unseen, and it contributes. We have spoken here many times about challenges in school and making sure children are in school. Youth workers in particular support bringing people back to school and making sure they are happy and they are active. My role and my intention, now that youth is under the remit of the Department of education, is that we create these links and make them even stronger. I know it is something Deputy Cummins is passionate about, not only for DEIS schools and in disadvantaged areas but for young people. My objective through the youth strategy is that as many young people as possible have access to these services.”
“These are coming through clearly from the organisations. Under Action 8, departmental officials have begun work on a review of the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme. The review will assess how the scheme operates, the extent to which the scheme is meeting its objectives, and whether the processes and procedures that underpin the scheme are fit for purpose. Ten new UBUs will be supported this year and we are working through the applications we have received.”
“I have set out that the Department will revert to stakeholders in the coming period on draft implementation arrangements for the strategy, including consultation and the engagement structures. Work is progressing well on delivery of several of the actions for which the Department has lead responsibility. We are still working on the full implementation plan, but the actions have not been paused. We are not waiting to move ahead. Under Action 7, a workforce survey was developed in late 2024 and disseminated to youth workers to establish baseline data and information. This data is being analysed at present. In March this year a questionnaire issued to youth organisations to provide the Department with a more in-depth understanding of the challenges experienced by youth organisations in workforce recruitment and retention.”
“I have asked the Department, at the earliest opportunity, to make sure we reach as many young people as possible, in particular those who would not necessarily engage with structures such as this. Since the transfer of responsibility for this matter to the Department on 1 May, I have included actions in the recently published education plan to bring forward these structures and have had my first meetings with the national youth organisations. I have met the umbrella organisations and had good engagement with them. They are very keen to ensure they have an active role in the implementation of the strategy. I am also keen that they have this active role.”
“Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services is the strategic framework for the youth work sector. It was published in September 2024. The purpose of the strategy is to provide a platform for an effective, data-driven and joined-up approach to the delivery of youth work and related services. The implementation of the strategy will be reported on via the Young Ireland governance structures. The implementation of this strategy, and the co-operation of all relevant actors, will be supported via a new national youth sector reference group, as well as a group with representatives from Departments and agencies that provide funding to, or interact with, the youth sector. This is being established. Importantly, this group will provide an opportunity for young people to engage.”
“That is simply on the basis that, in the context of the overall level need, a decision was taken that it was not necessary. That is not to say that next year a school might not be approved and, obviously, the classroom would open. It is important that we are able to plan. That is why the deadline is there. It does not mean that children outside of the deadline are going to be excluded. If we have to put a structure in place to make sure that we have a good sense of exactly what the need is, where children should be and where their local schools are, however, that is the most important thing outside of all of this. We will be working all summer. The NCSE is working over the summer to make sure that every child will have their place for September.”
“I utterly reject the suggestion that parents are being gaslit. There has never been as much engagement with parents through the NSCE to support them. I accept that a small number of children still do not have their places. We are working on that. We will work all summer to make sure they have their places allocated to them. Parents and schools are being engaged with throughout all of this. The Department and the NCSE are working with schools. I acknowledge the many schools that are providing additional places, classrooms and capacity, even as we speak. The 400 new classes have now become 407. It is absolutely the case that in some areas where schools have been sanctioned for perhaps two classrooms, it is now one or even one classroom and it is not needed.”
“Within Dublin, a very small number of special classes and special school places are being worked through. The number changes every time we speak. What I can say is that there are more places than there is need. That has been identified. That includes those who are coming forward. Our intention is that by September, every child will know where they are going and will have a place. That is what is actively being worked on.”
“Since we last spoke at the committee, significant progress has been made. Every week, the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I, meet with the NCSE to make sure that more places are being offered. Just under 3,300, as I said previously, were notified before the February deadline. The number after that, to be honest, is changing. Every week, more children are coming to the attention of the NCSE. In the context of the February deadline, the majority of the children involved are being supported in placements in mainstream schools, with extra support, special classes or special schools, as necessary. Outside Dublin, places have been identified for children. A small number of allocations are still being made in the context of the enrolment process.”
“An additional 768 teaching and 1,600 SNA posts were provided in budget 2025 to support schools in this endeavour and all schools have been notified of their allocations for the coming school year.”
“It will always be the case, no matter what deadline is put in place, that there will be children who do not meet it. We are therefore working actively to make sure those children have a place identified for them. Asking parents to engage early with the NCSE when seeking a special placement has enhanced the NCSE’s capacity to plan and make timely provision in local areas. Therefore, for the 2026-2027 school year we are asking families to engage by 1 October 2025 - four months earlier than this year - to support this planning further and allow the NCSE to sanction classes much quicker. The NCSE will be actively communicating this requirement nationally.”
“The additional capacity, together with the movement of children across existing classes, means that my Department and the NCSE have created more capacity than required for the children known to the NCSE by the deadline of February 2025. The NCSE has advised me that, outside Dublin, all children known to it by the February deadline who require a special class placement at primary and post-primary level have received a place. The NCSE is working intensively with the parents of a small number of children in the Dublin area who are seeking a special class or special school placement, and with the schools concerned to finalise the arrangements for the 2025-2026 school year. In addition, the NCSE is working closely with parents who came forward after the February deadline to support them into available class placements.”
“The NCSE is the national agency with responsibility for the provision of special education places. This year, the NCSE has sanctioned 407 new special classes for the coming school year, bringing to 3,742 the number of special classes in our schools. There are new classes in every county in Ireland and, with the number of special classes doubling in the last five years, this now means that there are more classes than ever ensuring greater numbers of children can access places, most importantly, in their local schools. Combined with 300 new special school places, this brings to 2,700 the number of new school places for children with special educational needs.”
“As a Government, we are doing this, and everything we do, for each and every one of them. Certainly, for my own part as Minister, they will be front and centre in this process at every step of the way.”
“The language is very carefully worded to ensure every child who was subjected to any type of interaction for sexual gratification by any person in the school - regardless of who they were or how often they were there - can be included in this. It is important for people to understand that is why those terms of reference have been set out in that way. Finally, I will finish as I started by acknowledging all survivors. Many people have touched on this. We talk about those who have come forward. I acknowledge Mark and David and so many others in the past and recent past. I also acknowledge those who cannot come forward for whatever reason, who cannot speak and who may never come forward to this commission, even if it is anonymous. I acknowledge them and their unbelievable bravery.”
“Regarding interaction and the terms of reference Senator O'Reilly mentioned at the outset, we had looked at making the interpretation more detailed in setting out what child sexual abuse is, but it was very clearly set out, as it currently is now, through engagement with the Attorney General to ensure every child is included here. We are ensuring that every kind of interaction involving the sexual abuse of a child - regardless of whether it was a member of a religious order, a teacher, a lay person or someone who came to the school once a week, and regardless of whether it was sexual interaction, rape or a photograph being taken, because we know something like that was happening as well, with photographs being taken and passed around - is included in it and not excluded.”
“With regard to some of the other questions and issues raised, the gardaí will engage with the commission in the way it has previously throughout the scoping enquiry. In my previous role I was very aware when the scoping enquiry was published last September that there was an increase in the number of people who went to the gardaí. The work of the commission does not in any way interrupt or detract from the gardaí still having a clear role to ensure those who are responsible are held accountable. It will work with the commission in doing so and will ensure that happens.”
“It is really important that we get redress right. It is important where there is redress that those who are responsible - not just religious orders, but institutions as well - are held accountable, which also means financially. There is more work to be done to understand what is available within the institutions and whether that is financial assets or other types of assets. It is important to acknowledge that some institutions and orders have come forward and we need to ensure everybody plays their part and engages here. We will engage in good faith, in good spirit and in a way that is appropriate with the orders and religious associations. It is important everybody plays their part. I have to be clear on that.”
“We have worked very closely as a Department with One in Four as an organisation. It is very much engaged in the development of this process and making sure it can also provide those supports. We know from the publishing of the scoping enquiry last year that the number of people who came forward increased and the number of people who came forward to the gardaí increased. Any time there is a discussion or announcement of this kind, it raises something in people and, thankfully, many more are able to come forward. We need to ensure the supports are also there for them. Memorialisation was touched on. It was clear from the scoping enquiry that there is no one particular view on how we deal with this important aspect of everything we are discussing here today. The commission will hopefully help us to inform what this will look like.”
“I am sure it will also be engaging with Inclusion Ireland to ensure that in establishing the survey and in setting out how the victim survivor programme will work and how we engage with survivors throughout, all of these concerns are taken into consideration. This is very clearly underpinned by the terms of reference. I am very clear and having spoken to the chair on a number of occasions he is very clear that this must be accessible to everybody, including those who are in prisons and those who are not perhaps able to communicate by sitting in front of a person so to speak. They need to have a way to be able to engage in this process as well. Regarding the survivor-centred and trauma-informed approach, I take the point Senator Boyhan raised that those supports need to be available now.”
“The commission will strive to be as survivor centred as possible, consistent with fair procedures, and will promote clear communication and transparency to allow survivors to make informed choices as to whether to engage with the commission. It will support survivors at key stages of the process, including emotional and psychological support. It will support those with additional needs to facilitate an accessible and inclusive process that is trauma informed at every step of the way and it will take practical steps to mitigate the risk of retraumatisation. Before any survey is even sent out, the first step will be to try to understand how many people may come forward. The commission will engage with survivors.”
“That is not in any way to diminish the fact that some people were violently abused and assaulted in schools, many of whom then also faced sexual abuse. I do not want to diminish in any way what happened there, but the focus must be on sexual abuse in schools. Many of the schools were special schools and many of those children were unable even to communicate what happened to them. It is important that this commission is accessible to everybody. Senator Ruane mentioned the calls by Inclusion Ireland to ensure it is inclusive. Obviously, we went through the terms of reference very clearly with the Attorney General to make sure it is accessible to everybody.”
“Colleagues have asked why physical abuse is not specifically mentioned and why it is not part of this. The initial scoping inquiry was very much focused on sexual abuse in our schools. It is a challenge for survivors in particular. That is not to say this is for survivors or because of them, but if we are to get answers for survivors, those who are victims of sexual abuse, where it always has been and will always be a crime, we need to do so in a manner that responds effectively. If we were to expand beyond that to physical abuse, given that we have had changes in law where corporal punishment was allowed in the past, I believe this inquiry would go on for decades. It is not a reason not to do it, but our scope here is very much focused on child sexual abuse in our schools and how we get answers for survivors as quickly as possible.”
“How did people actually support others to continue this abuse? That does not just include those who are teachers in the schools, but also those who came to the schools who committed abuse and those who turned a blind eye in the various institutions when this happened. As Senator Scahill said in his opening remarks, we all know wonderful people and teachers in religious orders, in congregations and in schools. Some of them are fantastic people. This is not in any way an attempt to tarnish everybody with the same brush because there are many people who are appalled at what happened and want to see those who are responsible held accountable. This is not anti-Catholic, anti-Protestant or anti any other religious ethos. It is anti child abuse. It is about making sure we get to the answers that survivors deserve to get to.”
“Importantly, we need to do everything we can to ensure it can never happen again. I believe that significant progress has been made in that regard and that schools are completely different places from what they were only a few years ago. There is always room to improve and always more that can be done. I am absolutely committed to that in my role as Minister for education. The commission will investigate and report on the handling of concerns of historical child sexual abuse for the very clear reason we are not seeking to establish whether child sexual abuse occurred in school; we know what happened. There are people who have been convicted and others who should be convicted, but many have passed away. We now need to know why it happened for so long. What did people do? What did they not do?”
“Therefore, it deserves the kind of response we are providing here with the commission of investigation and then the further work with redress. The sexual abuse of a child the most egregious breach of trust. Senator Ruane spoke about finding the words. Yesterday in the Dáil, I struggled to find the words to explain how I feel and how many of us feel about this crime. It is the most egregious breach. It is the most despicable and sinister act that anybody can commit against a child. For it to happen in a setting where a child should be safe and secure, and for it to be perpetrated by an individual in a position of power who should be caring for them and nurturing them, makes it all the more sinister. That is why it is so important that we look at our response to understand exactly what happened and why it happened.”
“I thank colleagues for their contributions and constructive input. I think we are all of the same view here. We all want to ensure the commission is set up as quickly as possible. We all want to ensure that survivors get the answers they so rightly deserve. We all want to ensure this happens as quickly as possible and in a way that is survivor centred and trauma informed. That is at the heart of everything we do. It is an issue of profound societal importance. It touches almost every family and every one of us here through an individual we know, because of our own experience or through a relative in the past. Whether we have children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews attending school or about to attend school, this is something that touches every family and every community the length and breadth of the country.”
“I want to say to him here today that we stand with him and all survivors in doing that by establishing this commission of investigation. I, again, thank every single person impacted for their bravery and I thank all colleagues for their engagement on this important matter here today.”
“Many of the survivors who came forward to the scoping inquiry explained that they felt compelled to do so because of their need to be sure that what they endured would not happen to another child, and their greatest priority was often to ensure that lessons would be learned to ensure the ongoing safety of children in schools going forward. Today is an important day and, indeed, a difficult day for many survivors who experienced the devastation of child sexual abuse in our schools. I thank them again. In particular, I recognise Mark and David Ryan for the service they have done. We would not be standing here, I believe, without their service, and essentially them telling their own story. Mark has left an immeasurable legacy. From having met with David recently, I know he is determined to continue what they started together.”
“I have no doubt that more should be done at present. My Department is establishing a child protection in schools group, as recommended by the report of the scoping inquiry, to further strengthen those robust systems. This group will deal with overarching child protection policy and will provide updates as required to the commission of investigation in the course of its work in relation to child protection in schools, and will have to ensure all those responsible for child protection are part of that group and are feeding into any of the work it does. I acknowledge that there is a strong culture of child protection in schools now, and the vital role played by our school communities in that regard.”