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.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,132 lines we hold for Helen McEntee, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 43 of 43.
“The Deputy will note and see in all of the actions outlined in the programme for Government, which was agreed by all parties on this side of the House, that more measures will be taken, not just to introduce tougher laws, as has been the case to date, but to ensure recruitment continues to increase, whether that be through increasing the training allowance available to our gardaí to encourage more, making sure we have greater availability for gardaí to train and not just in Templemore, making sure we look to expand our force to make sure it is as diverse as possible so it reflects the communities gardaí are supporting, or making sure we do everything possible to support the Garda in its work. I acknowledge the substantial work our gardaí do day in and day out in making sure they keep the people of this country safe.”
“While we must continue to increase the number of gardaí in our city centre, which is happening, we need to look at issues like dereliction and street lighting, the concentration of services in our city centre, who is accommodated in our city centre and how that is developed. We also need to work collectively to respond to the challenges that exist, and I am absolutely committed, as is this Government, to making sure we all play our part in responding to those challenges. I assure the Deputy that when it comes to safety, ensuring people are safe and that they feel safe in their cities, homes and on our streets is a number one priority for this Government.”
“Of course there are challenges in our capital city and I have never shied away from that, but I believe we all recognise that it is not just the role of our Garda to make sure people are safe. This is why two things have to progress. One is the community safety partnerships, which look at community safety from a whole-of-community perspective, and the second is making sure our gardaí are working with our local authorities, our community groups, our young people, educators, housing sector and so much beyond in order that they come together and deliver a plan for their areas. That includes Dublin city centre and our capital. That is why our task force, which was led by our current Tánaiste and former Taoiseach, set out very clearly that there were a number of things we need to do now.”
“When it comes to knife crime this is an issue that I and that every person in this Government and beyond takes extremely seriously. This is why, when Minister, I increased the penalty for those who are found not just carrying a knife and in possession of a knife but also those who threaten to use a knife and of course those who use a knife, reflecting the severity of this crime. The number of confiscations by gardaí and the number of seizures have increased significantly in recent years. The police powers Bill referenced by the Deputy, which I instigated in the Department and which has been followed through, will make sure gardaí have even greater powers available to them to respond to these crimes.”
“It is for that very reason my number one priority and the number one priority for this Government and the current Minister is to make sure the number of gardaí we have on our streets, in our towns and in our cities continues to increase. That number is steadily rising for our capital city. More than 50% of our new recruits have consistently gone to Dublin city centre and the surrounding areas. That is why as the Minister for Justice I introduced body cameras for the first time in our city centre to make sure gardaí are equipped to respond to the many challenges we face, not just in Dublin but across the country. That is why our current Minister is committed to making sure gardaí have other technologies and equipment available to them, such as facial recognition technology, so they can respond to incidents.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. At the outset I offer my sincere condolences to the young man who was brutally stabbed at the weekend. I must make it clear, and An Garda Síochána has made it very clear in its actions to date, that whoever is responsible for this will be held accountable and will be brought to justice. I acknowledge also the serious incident that occurred last weekend. It is absolutely this Government's intention and priority, and has always been the case, that people feel safe and that they are safe in their homes and on their streets. It is for that very reason as a former Minister for Justice I increased the budget for An Garda Síochána by half a billion euro.”
“Incorporating these schools ensures that schools can utilise current staffing arrangements but also that classes can be established quickly as existing accommodation can be reconfigured in a more streamlined and efficient manner. I acknowledge that we are starting from a low base but it is not fair to say nothing has happened or that this is not a priority. We are absolutely committed to making sure that the progress that has been made continues and, most importantly, that all children get the support and the access to education they need.”
“A total of 181 new special classes have already been confirmed and the NCSE is engaging intensively with the remaining schools, boards of management and patron bodies to ensure that additional special classes are confirmed as quickly as possible. This year, the NCSE has focused on medium to large primary schools that currently have no special classes but that may have available space within their school building. Sanctioning classes in these schools ensures that more options are available to parents when seeking a special educational placement and that options remain in centralised locations. We have also provided the NCSE with statistical data on schools with falling enrolments or in areas with falling demographics.”
“These measures include more streamlined funding for the refurbishment of available accommodation to provide special classrooms and funding to provide for new classrooms, whether modular, new-build or extensions to older accommodation. As I have said and will continue to stress, it is an absolute priority for this Government, for me and for the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, to ensure that every child has an appropriate school place in a timely manner. For this September, the NCSE has visited a significant number of schools to help ascertain where provision can be accommodated in those schools. These visits have resulted in over 400 formal requests issuing to schools requesting them to open a special class for 2025-26.”
“In October 2022, in anticipation of the increase in demand at post-primary level, my Department wrote to all post-primary schools requesting that each school begin planning to provide for up to four special classes to meet the needs of children progressing from primary school. Just last year, my Department issued a circular to all schools setting out new measures to support that forward planning of special education provision. Included in this circular was a reminder of the need for post-primary schools to continue planning for this level of provision. In addition, to support this forward planning work, the circular set out a number of new measures to support the work of the NCSE and schools in providing these new special classes.”
“No matter where they are from, their background or their geography, they should be treated equally and have access to the educational place they deserve and every support to ensure they achieve their full potential. The task force is due to report its recommendations in the coming months and any actions and recommendations arising from it will be fully supported by my Department and the NCSE. We will be meeting with the task force to discuss this further. On forward planning, of the 3,336 special classes nationwide, 2,339 are at primary level and 997 are at post-primary level.”
“Working with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, I intend to prioritise work in this area. We will work very closely with the NCSE, our SENOs and all of those who are responsible for supporting parents, children and families in accessing educational spaces and for ensuring they are provided and that this is done in a timely manner. This new common application system is being trialled in Dublin 15. I hope it will relieve the administrative burden by allowing parents to submit one application to many schools. Again, this is about providing practical solutions, reducing stress and doing so in a timely manner. It is about planning and preparing and ensuring that every single child is being treated equally.”
“This includes the NCSE reaching out to schools earlier to establish where there is potential for capacity, providing parents a central email address to provide information such as reports, specialist recommendations to the NCSE and the establishment of a task force committed to examining more practical solutions for parents. While the task force is currently examining the Dublin 15 area, where barriers and problems exist when looking to access school places, and is looking for those practical solutions I have mentioned, it is intended the work will then expand and apply to all parts of our country. This Government will support parents by introducing that common application procedure. This has the potential to be an absolute game-changer for parents and for children with special educational needs.”
“We all know the Dublin 15 area in particular has been highlighted in recent months, as there has been a significant increase in population growth. A significant number of parents experienced difficulties in securing special places last year. Many of them applied to numerous schools, and I know that is replicated right across the country. We have set up a number of initiatives to respond to the issue and I hope that, through the task force and these initiatives, this solution can be replicated and all children and parents can benefit from it.”
“It is important that we do not say we have a space available but it is two hours away, as the Deputies have mentioned. We need to make sure those spaces, classrooms and supports are as close as possible to the children who need them. It is only right and proper that these supports are provided at a local level insofar as possible and, where possible, in that local school, but also where their siblings are going to school. It is really important that is part of our objectives and priorities as well to ensure children grow up as part of their local school community and environment and that this forms part of our overall vision for an inclusive education system. I know this can be a stressful time for parents when seeking a school place and there is a huge administrative burden placed on parents' shoulders in this regard.”
“We expect every SENO to know what their schools are, who their principals are and who are the parents they are dealing with, in order that they can expand on the support they provide to them and on the fantastic work so many of them are already doing in the community. They too will play a significant part when it comes to enrolment and making sure there is one route for parents. There is also substantial work being done to make sure we expand on our special classes. As I have said, 400 more will be added this year for the coming school year. However, I accept that while there is spare capacity in the system, the problem is that capacity is not always where parents want to enrol their child. My Department and the NCSE are working on this.”
“However, it is important to stress and outline that there has been a huge amount of investment, a huge focus in this area and there is more work we want to do. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I have met with the National Council for Special Education to outline our clear intention for those new special classes to make sure every child and parent gets offered those places as quickly as possible. To be clear, we expect to see results on the huge amount of investment that has gone into the NCSE over the past number of years, which has allowed it to increase its overall staff number and has allowed us to increase the number of SENOs and to reduce down the areas.”
“I want to make sure they have the levels of support, training and guidance available in many avenues, whether in initial teacher training, making sure that is part of their initial training irrespective of whether they are going to work in specialist classes or in special schools, through professional learning, NCSE specific training or through education support services. In addition, we see our SNA workforce expand and upskill. Work continues on the workforce development plan for SNAs, which is due to be launched in September and will introduce policy developments to give greater clarity, support and direction through the SNA service. While I quote these figures, behind them are children and young people.”
“Significant overall funding has also been provided, to the point where more than one quarter - almost one third - of our budget is now allocated specifically to children and young people with special educational needs. Do we need to do more? Absolutely. I intend to make sure that budget increases. We have also seen an important increase in the number of special educational teaching and special needs assistant posts, to more than 44,000 by the end of this year, which is again a significant increase. The sector continues to grow, and it thankfully continues to be a career choice for many new and established teachers.”
“There are 250,000 children with special educational needs accommodated in our mainstream schools with supports. In addition, 28,000 children are in either a special class or special schools. Since 2020 alone, the number of special classes and schools has grown significantly. I am not saying it is where it needs to be. We have a huge amount more work to do, but it has gone from more than 1,800 to 3,735. That will be the case by the end of this year because we have committed to opening 400 new classes. At the same time, 16 special schools have been established. Again, I am not saying this is where we need to be, but this is important as these are the first schools to be opened in more than 20 years.”
“That is why I am determined, working with the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, to move heaven and earth, as the Deputies have said, to put in place whatever we can to make sure that, not just this year, those who need school places can get them at the earliest stage possible and they can plan going to school in the same way every other child can. I am determined to ensure we continue to invest and put in place the resources needed to plan, not just for this year, but beyond that. I do not think it is fair to say that we do not care, that there has not been work done here or that nobody sees this as a priority. This has been a priority, and not just for this Government and the previous Government. It is because of that focus and investment that there has been significant investment in special education in recent years.”
“I thank the Deputies for raising this matter and the range of issues contained in the motion this evening. I acknowledge the families who are here. I know the families and children the Deputies are referring to. They are my friends, family and constituents, and I know just how difficult it is for parents, mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings of parents, siblings of the children we are talking about who are trying to access school places, the stress, heartache and devastation when there are 20 applications put in and there is no school place available and it does not happen at the same time as their sibling.”
“I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: - a child's right to education is enshrined in the Constitution and, under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, must be accessible on an equal basis with others in the community in which they live; and - the Government is committed to ensuring that each child with a special educational need has an appropriate school place, in line with their Constitutional right and Programme for Government commitments; further notes: - the continued significant State investment of €2.9 billion in supporting the provision of special education, a 48 per cent increase since 2020; - the increase in the allocation of Special Education Teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to support children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in our schools; - the strategic initiatives introduced to provide for the continued accelerated delivery of special class places in mainstream schools and special school places, with the number of special classes having doubled over the last five years and 16 new special schools being established; - the work being progressed to provide up to another 400 new special classes and 300 additional special school places for the coming school year, to ensure that every child known to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has an appropriate school place; - the significant investment in the expansion of staffing at the NCSE to assist families of children with SEN in all aspects of their educational journey, including accessing a placement appropriate to their needs; - the ongoing engagement between the NCSE, the Department of Education, school patron bodies, school management bodies and schools, in relation to the forward planning of special education provision, which has yielded additional classes in every county at primary- and post-primary level in recent years; - the enactment of the Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Needs) Act 2022, which provides a power to compel schools to make additional provision for children with SEN and for the NCSE to direct schools to admit children with SEN; - the establishment of the D15 Taskforce to support forward planning for special education provision in the area, and to support the trial of a common application system for special classes; - the introduction of a new pilot to reinstate therapy services onsite in special schools, and the commitment in the Programme for Government to provide for an education led therapy service for special schools; - the funding provided for the training and upskilling of teachers and SNAs who support children with SEN; - the expansion of the Summer Programme, which has seen the number of children participating increase by 150 per cent since 2020; - that the extensive review by the Department of Education of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 is nearing completion; - the establishment of a new SNA Workforce Development Unit by the Department of Education; - the ongoing investment in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity In Schools programme, to support schools and students at risk of educational disadvantage; and - the renewed focus of the Government on the area of disability services, with a particular focus on improving the delivery of services for children with disabilities; and calls on the Government to: - take any necessary steps to ensure that every child who needs a special educational place has access to one in a timely manner; - continue to expand the number of special school places, special classes and special education teaching hours as required across the State; - improve communication and outreach to parents of children with SEN, to streamline the process by which parents apply for specialist school places, reducing the burden on them and improving the timelines, including the introduction of a common application procedure; - continue to increase investment into the area of Special Education, to ensure that every child can reach their full potential; - support additional schools and students to benefit from the Summer Programme; and - ensure the NCSE will continue to engage intensively with parents and all educational partners to continue to increase capacity.".”
“Between 2018 and 2024, the number of allocated primary teaching posts has increased by 14% or more than 5,000, while post-primary posts have increased by 18% or more than 5,000. Our population, though, is growing and so is the demand. We need to do much more and in the coming weeks I intend to set out additional measures we can take to improve our teacher supply and to support our teachers.”
“I am also determined to continue to upgrade our schools across the country. We all know the opening of a school, a refurbishment or a new extension is a great moment for a school and a community, and I intend for that to continue. Since 2020, my Department has invested more than €5.7 billion in our schools right across the country. It has involved the completion of more than 1,150 school project buildings. Much more is under way. Again, as the Minister for education and youth, I want to ensure this record investment continues. Finally, a key commitment in the programme for Government is to support our teachers, who are so important to everything I have discussed, and all those who work in our education system. This will be absolutely key.”
“The AI and digital revolution, in particular, presents the biggest change for our economy and society. That is why curriculum reform is so important. I again commend the work of my colleague the Minister, Deputy Foley, on reform of the leaving certificate. There is now an opportunity and momentum to move forward on examinations that recognise a broader range of competencies looking at critical analysis, creative thinking, information processing, communication, being personally effective and, something we all know is important in here, working together. I will also take action to support teaching and learning in Irish. I will publish a new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht with an objective to increase the proportion of children and young people attending Irish-medium education settings.”
“I think there is a real opportunity now that the responsibility for youth is moving into the Department to ensure there is that synergy. We have our schools, which are really important places for our young people to be supported. The question, though, is how we can work outside the schools with our youth services more and ensure greater connectivity between both. How can we ensure that we support our young people to flourish in school and outside of school to ultimately maximise their potential and help them to achieve their ambitions for the future? The world is changing and it is essential that the education system changes too and that we and the students are equipped with the abilities and knowledge to succeed in this rapidly changing world.”
“In particular, I wish to place a focus on improving outcomes for children from areas of high deprivation, while of course increasing innovation and collaboration between schools. Since Covid-19 and the pandemic, the rate of absenteeism in schools has, unfortunately, increased significantly. The proportion of children in primary schools missing more than 20 days has doubled since the pandemic. This is even more profound among some cohorts of children and young people. As Minister for education and youth, I am determined to take actions that can reverse this trend. There are of course many complex reasons children do not attend schools, so tackling this issue requires a real partnership approach of school, home and community supports, as well, of course, as listening to our children and young people.”
“The introduction of a common application system for children applying for special classes or for special schools has the potential to be a game-changer for parents and we will work to implement this system building on the work of the Dublin 15 task force. We must also take additional actions to tackle educational disadvantage. The DEIS programme is a significant support to 260,000 students right across 1,200 schools. The Minister, Deputy Foley, secured funding to extend the DEIS programme to 322 additional schools. The intervention by the Minister is already having a real and very positive impact on the lives of children. However, we want to and must do more. As Minister, I intend to prioritise actions that will close the gap between our DEIS and our non-DEIS schools.”
“Working with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and following on from the work of our predecessors, I intend to place a significant focus on supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their potential while working closely with the NCSE and my Department in that regard. We must ensure our education system is inclusive of all of our students. That means opening additional educational schools and special classes. It means expanding the number of SNAs, building on the huge expansion to date. It means further special education teachers, expanding on the resources available to special schools and making sure we have a better structure in place particularly when it comes to parents accessing school places. This means placing a greater focus on the rights of parents.”
“I am really pleased to have an opportunity to speak on the programme for Government that I was pleased to negotiate with colleagues over the last number of weeks and months and one that sets out our priorities as a Government over the next five years. It is built on delivering a strong economy and a fair society and central to that is our education system. We have set out very clearly in the programme for Government that education is at the heart of all our ambitions as a country. Excellent and innovative education and training are essential to delivering a fair society and a strong economy. The education system must begin by supporting everyone to fulfil their potential no matter their background or ability. We all have ability. It is about identifying, supporting and harnessing it.”
“I acknowledge how important this school project is, not just for the Deputy but also for the wider community. The school capital projects overall entail a significant plan that we hope to see expanded in the years to come. The projects are well advanced but I want to ensure they can progress as quickly as possible. I look forward to working with the Deputy and, indeed, the school he has mentioned to ensure modular units can be put in place on site as quickly as possible, particularly for the year starting in September.”