Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as aird a tharraingt ar an ábhar seo. Tugann sé deis dom plé a dhéanamh ar stádas reatha an tionscadail seo. I thank the Senator for raising this issue regarding Scoil an Chroí Naofa in Ballinasloe, County Galway. I recently visited the school with the Senator and other Oireachtas Members and elected representatives. I saw first hand the fantastic work happening there, through principal Christine Connor, her leadership team, the staff, the board of management and parents. A huge a…

As the Senator will be aware, all schools over €10 million must be submitted to the Department of public expenditure and reform and that is where it is at at present. There is an absolute commitment by me, as Minister for Education and Youth, to ensure that Scoil an Chroí Naofa can move to tender and I expect that will happen shortly. The engagement with the Department of public expenditure and reform has been positive. I absolutely recognise the need and the urgency around this going to tender. The Senator mention…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the new school building of Gaelcholáiste Reachrann in Dublin 13. This school building project will cater for a long-term projected enrolment of 600 students with additional classrooms for children with special educational needs. It is a project which has been a long time in development. The preliminary design stage 1 focused on assessing the most appropriate options for locating the n…

It is envisaged that construction will commence in the fourth quarter of 2026. When I came into this Department earlier this year, Gaelcholáiste Reachrann was announced as part of the 105 school building projects on the NDP list, so this is a priority for my Department and, as I have said, it is due to go to commence construction in the fourth quarter of this year.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the new school building for Scoil Mhuire, Moycullen, County Galway. At the outset, I would like to state that the delivery of this new school building is a significant priority for me and my Department and I know this is school in the Moycullen area is close to the Deputy's heart. The brief for this major project is to provide a new 16-classroom primary school with additional classroo…

I also acknowledge the hard work that the board of management and all the school team have put into this project. As I said, it is expected to proceed to tender shortly. In relation to engagement with the Department of public expenditure and reform, all school building projects that are over €10 million must be submitted to the Department of public expenditure and reform for its approval before proceeding to tender. This is one of a number of projects currently under review by the Department of public expenditure a…

I thank the Deputy for his comments and I too wish everyone well over the next couple of weeks. An estimated 25% of students, or approximately 240,000 children and young people, have special educational needs. While the majority are supported successfully in mainstream settings by their class teacher, special education teachers, SET, and special needs assistants, SNA, as necessary, there remains an increasing need for special class and special school places for children with more complex needs. The parents notify p…

There is weekly engagement with the NCSE. Since January, 584 special classes have been sanctioned for the upcoming school year. That includes 68 inclusive classes. Of the 584 new special classes, 378 are being established in primary schools and 206 in post-primary schools. This brings the total number of special classes sanctioned to date to over 4,300. The NCSE continues to work with families and schools on this. As we know, there may be more children throughout the year who will need specialist placements. The NC…

A huge amount of work is being done on securing specialist places, be it in special classes or special schools. We are far ahead of where we were this time last year. We had a budget for 400 special classes. I got increased funding in March of this year. We are ahead in relation to forward planning. There are now 584 special classes allocated. This is far more than any previous years because of the parent notify system, on 1 October. I brought that forward again this year. This enabled the Department to forward pla…

As Minister for Education and Youth I am committed to supporting the workforce in the youth sector to deliver high-quality youth work and non-formal developmental opportunities for young people. Action 7 in Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services 2024-2028, commits to developing a workforce development strategy in respect of the youth sector. This is to include consideration of training needs and the requirement for high-quality, accessible and inclusive youth work services an…

I thank Deputy Farrelly. I would be very happy to receive that information. It would help our data collection and make sure we are getting a really good picture of the youth work sector across the country. The work that has been under way within the Department is to try to get that profile, to really understand our youth work sector and to get feedback from them. The first advisory group will have its first meeting in September and the terms of reference of that group will be finalised once the group is established…

It is very fitting that youth has moved into the Department of education. It is a good fit. I have met with many youth organisations across the country since I was appointed and they seem very happy with the formal education and the informal education. I have witnessed the huge expertise on the ground. This is the data we want to collect and there is a willingness there and an appetite for training as well. As the Deputy knows very well, it is so important we have the right skill set in our youth services across th…

This Government is committed to improving staffing levels in primary schools and supporting the recruitment and retention of teachers. According to the latest published data from November 2025, there were more than 97% of allocated primary teaching posts filled. Teacher numbers at primary level have increased by almost 6,000 since 2019 and now stand at the highest level ever recorded at over 43,400. The Government is investing a record €14.1 billion in education and schools through budget 2026. This record level of…

It is an absolute commitment in the programme for Government to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio over the lifetime of the Government. The Deputy will appreciate I cannot announce anything here in the Dáil. I have to go into negotiations in relation to the upcoming budget. In the past ten years there has been a five-point improvement to the primary staffing schedule. In 2015, teachers were allocated to primary schools at a general average of 28 pupils for every one teacher. This is now reduced to 23:1. Lower threshold…

There is a number of issues here, such as the staffing appeals criteria. The numbers going into primary schools are reducing and our population bulge is in post-primary. That is a reality of the way trends are going. There is a staffing appeals circular, set out in Circular 0025/2026, and it includes specific appeals for small-school enrolments in the previous October, involving projected enrolments, accommodation difficulties and where there may be language support. The primary staffing appeals board operates inde…

The National Parents Council, NPC, is the representative body for parents of children in primary and post-primary education. It serves as an important channel of communication between parents and my Department. Annual funding is provided to support its work, including €765,782 in 2025. The National Parents Council represents parents’ views on education policy, curriculum reform and educational resources, ensuring that parental perspectives are reflected in policy development, implementation and decision-making. The…

I do not know exactly what the Deputy is asking me in relation to the Department of education. I do not know if it is a book used in schools but, so the Deputy understands how it works, in regard to schools that use textbooks or other teaching and learning resources, that is a matter for the individual school. Decisions around materials are made at a whole-school level. Textbooks are commercially produced and my Department does not endorse publications, products or services from individual, commercial or other prov…

I will repeat it for the Deputy. In regard to our schools, I come from a teaching background myself. I do not know exactly what the Deputy is inferring in relation to the education system.

I have not read that book but what I can tell the Deputy in relation to our education system is that, be it social, personal and health education, SPHE, or relationships and sexuality education, RSE, there is a huge amount of consultation between schools and parents. With regard to the NCCA as our curriculum is developed, there is huge amount of consultation. Our teachers are so well trained in this country to make sure that when they are engaging in SPHE, for example, they are ensuring that all of our children are…

The Government is investing a record €14.1 billion into education and schools through budget 2026. This record level of investment has allowed the Government to invest in tackling educational disadvantage and supporting those with special educational needs to achieve their full potential. It has enabled huge investment in the school buildings programme, in curriculum reform, in school leadership and in continuous professional development for teachers. Under the programme for Government, there is a commitment to aim…