I thank the Deputy. To be fair, parents or guardians sometimes have a variety of reasons as to why it is necessary for them to bring their children to school or drive them to school. The reasons can be multifaceted and complex and parents and guardians should always have that freedom. Notwithstanding that, I know there are many parents who are very keen to be in a position to avail of the school transport system. It would make life a lot easier for them and it would also reduce traffic on the road. That is why we h…

I do not have it. What is it about? Question No. 30 is not listed.

That question was not flagged with me but I will take the details from the Deputy and ensure we revert to him.

Without knowing the details, I cannot comment because I am not apprised of it. The Department works collaboratively with schools, particularly those benefiting, as the Deputy outlined, from a refurbishment or additional accommodation, whatever the case may be. We have a policy of engagement, co-operation and collaboration. I am confident the project the Deputy outlined is a significant undertaking financially by the Department. We want to ensure education continues to be delivered while that is provided. I do not h…

I will have to speak more slowly.

There are currently 161,000 young people transported every day via Bus Éireann. It is an enormous number and an important service. I have said previously in reply to other queries that planning for the 2024-25 school year begins in the previous year. It is well under way at this point. Applications for places on the buses opened in April and I think the closing date is around 7 June for payment or medical card details or whatever the case may be, so we will have a clearer picture at that point of the numbers requir…

I do not underestimate the challenge it has posed for parents. Of the more than 161,000 young people transported, the vast majority were transported seamlessly and positively and it worked as it was supposed to. There were isolated instances here and there. I do not underestimate the difficulty that caused for parents and guardians, especially the last-minute nature. It is far from ideal. It is not acceptable that a contract can be returned the night before the route is supposed to commence. There has been consider…

The school in question has received approval in principle for a building project under my Department’s additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme. The project will provide for two mainstream classrooms and two special education teaching rooms. This project is currently at stage 3, which is tender stage. The project is one of close to 90 projects with a total value of approximately €800 million that I recently announced would proceed from tender to construction during 2024 or early 2025. In addition, at the school…

I appreciate the case the Deputy is making, and he makes it well. I also acknowledge the case being made by the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and Senator Blaney. I have met the board and the principal and acknowledge the great work they do there every single day. I also say that it was only at the end of February that the Department received acknowledgement of availability of the site, and it was only on 21 May that the Department received the application for capital funding to develop the greenfield site. That wil…

I acknowledge the Department has been cognisant of the needs of the school. It is for that reason that the school received approval for two mainstream classrooms and two special education teaching rooms. That is currently at tender stage. The Department has recognised the challenges the school has faced. That was in addition to a further ASA scheme in 2022 for modular accommodation to provide a mainstream classroom and two special education tuition rooms. The Department has been cognisant of the great work happenin…

I actually do have a reply.

I will tell the Deputy all that is available to me at present, but I will say that I will engage with him again if there is something missing. I will ask for a further update. The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school building projects under the additional school accommodation scheme. The project will provide a two-class special education base, two mainstream classrooms, and a technical graphics room. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school autho…

Absolutely. I know that the Deputy has a particular interest in special education and has engaged with me a number of times on it. We are deeply committed in this area, and while we were coming from a low base, it is an achievement to say we now have 3,000 special classes in the scheme and we can see that, for example, of the new special classes that are in place, 11 are in County Louth. We have 11 new special schools in place and, alongside all that, we are committed to delivering additional accommodation to schoo…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Today I bring the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill before the House. I am deeply conscious in introducing the Bill of the enormous trauma that has been endured by all survivors of abuse, and I know that nothing we do now can ever truly undo the hurt which has been caused. Nearly 25 years ago, on 11 May 1999, the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, apologised on behalf of the State to the victims of childhood abuse. This apology arose from th…

There you go now.

I have another commitment I have to leave for. I will come in now and stay for as long as I can for other contributions. I thank the House for the opportunity to be here. I thank Senators O'Loughlin and Byrne for proposing and seconding the motion. It gives me an opportunity to set out the range of actions being taken by the Department of Education to plan for and deliver additional school capacity. I assure the House that it is an absolute priority for the Department to ensure every child in the State has access t…

Senior cycle redevelopment is an ambitious programme of work that aims to ensure students experience senior cycle in a way that reflects who they are and the world they live in now and in which they will live in the future. I acknowledge that with the introduction of curricular change, teachers and school leaders want support in order to give their students the best possible experience. As a former teacher and as Minister for Education, I certainly feel the same. I welcome the continued interest in and engagement o…

I reiterate that the ISTA membership, by way of its nominees, all of whom are science teachers, was part of the subject development groups and, as such, was very much an integral part of the design of the curriculums and the framework. Notwithstanding that, a further step has been taken by the NCCA in terms of the consultation aspect. This is an appropriate measure to ensure everybody, including ISTA, has an opportunity to cast an eye over what is being proposed. Anybody, not just this particular organisation, who …

I want to be clear regarding the allocation of resources. The Deputy referenced the use of laboratories. That specifically relates to the component of science in practice. It should be noted that what is currently set out regarding the science in practice investigations, some of which can, of course, take place in the laboratory, is not prescriptive in stating that they should solely be restricted to laboratory-based work. That is an important consideration. The Department has been very clear that we will engage on…

While we are offering congratulations, I congratulate the Deputy on the birth of his second daughter, Sadhbh. I wish him and his partner, Nicola, well. As I said to him earlier, he is surrounded by women. He is blessed among women and it will be very good for him. I sincerely wish him well. It is wonderful to be welcoming a new baby girl. The quality and commitment of Irish teachers is the bedrock of our education system and has been key to unlocking Ireland's potential as a knowledge economy. A range of measures a…