Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Ó Cuív, as ucht aird a tharraingt ar an éileamh atá ar oideachas lán-Ghaeilge faoi láthair. Mar Aire Oideachais, teastaíonn uaimse a chinntiú go ndéanfar soláthar cuí do dhaoine óga ar mian leo a gcuid oideachais a fháil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Mar chuid den Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge, tá mo Roinn tiomanta do dheiseanna a chruthú chun oideachas lán-Ghaeilge a leathnú lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht. Tá sé seo ag dul ar aghaidh i gcomhthéacs na bhfógraí maidir le bunú d…

The Deputy is correct. Where there is a desire to set up a school, the normal criteria is that it should have between a 600 and 1,000 pupil level available to it within the community. However, for the Gaelcholáistí, 400 is required. The aonaid are open to any school. They are entitled to approach the Department with the request to establish an aonad within the existing school. I know and accept that it is not everybody's preference in terms of the aonaid, and we had this discussion previously at committee, but ther…

I will take the last question first. The Department has a huge openness to working with anybody. Where there would be seen to be an interest and enthusiasm to establish an aonad, in the first instance, obviously, the school itself can approach the Department. If a need is identified in an area not associated with the school, however, I would like to think there would be an openness in terms of collaboration for all of us to work together to maybe source an appropriate school or whatever the case might be. We want t…

Through Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025 to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost 1 million students and more than 100,000 staff involved in the education sector. The Department has a proven track record of delivery. During the period 2018 to 2022, just under 900 school buildings were completed. This includes nearly 100 building projects across County Cork and a total investment of more than €433 million in schools in…

I thank all Deputies. I reiterate that more than 300 building projects are under way, including 40 new school buildings and 260 projects at existing schools across the country. Twenty-five of those school buildings are based in County Cork. That is almost 9%. A further 1,000 school building projects are in the pipeline at various stages, of which 165 are in Cork, which is almost 17% of all the building projects that are happening. Equally, in the modular accommodation framework, 33 projects are under way in County …

Deputy O'Connor referred to Carrigtwohill, which I am familiar with, as he said, and the need for further development in that east Cork area. Looking at east Cork, it includes Christian Brothers School, St. Colman's Community College and St. Mary's High School Midleton as part of the programme.

Could I have the floor? Pobalscoil na Tríonóide in Youghal, Coláiste Muire and Carrignafoy Community College in Cobh and Dromahane National School in Mallow are part of the programme. I did not mention the Patrician Academy in Mallow. Scoil An Athar Tadhg in Carrignavar and Ringaskiddy Lower Harbour National School are part of the programme. I am saying there is considerable work and all of the schools that have been referenced have made considerable accommodation and additionality with regard to places. The Deputy…

I think they will be getting worried to hear Deputy O'Sullivan is crossing into a different constituency. As Minister, I believe it is crucially important that children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. The Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many families. Earlier this year I announced the establishment of Ireland's first national primary schoolbook scheme. More than …

I thank the Deputy. I want to confirm that the provision is for all of our primary schools and special schools. There is no question. They are all included in it. Where there might be a need for additional resources or if the school finds it has additional students, or whatever the case might be, then as we have said in the guidelines that went out to the schools, direct contact has been made by the Department and provision has been made for that. I want to be clear that not a single penny is to be provided by pare…

I agree; this is a landmark moment in education. It is the right thing to do. A huge financial investment is involved, but we had to take the first step and the Department deemed it appropriate that that would relate to primary education. I am conscious of the benefit the scheme provides for parents and guardians because I meet them frequently and visit schools throughout the country. It has been universally welcomed as a positive step forward. I acknowledge that when there has been a first step, one would hope the…

As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity, is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department’s projections of school place requirements. Having considered …

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the House on the issue of back-to-school costs. The Government will not oppose the motion. In a short while, I will attend the graduation ceremony for 100 migrant teachers who are graduating from the bridging programme in Marino Institute of Education. I express my gratitude to the speakers here who have facilitated my attendance at what is a great occasion of celebration for those graduates. I express my gratitude for their graciousness. I am conscious of the signifi…

During my time as Minister for Education I have shown a strong commitment to addressing educational disadvantage. The Department’s statement of strategy sets out the vision and mission of the Department for an educational system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach his or her fullest potential. It sets equity of opportunity in education as a goal and equality and inclusivity as fundamental principles. Successful delivery of this goal means that our school s…

I appreciate the positive comment the Deputy made across a variety of different levels. It is important to note the school completion rate of in excess of 96% compared with an EU average of 84%, which speaks to the considerable achievement in this country on retention rates within schools. That is largely due to the considerable investment that has gone in. He referred to DEIS supports for our schools, with investment of more than €180 million last March, which was the single largest expansion of DEIS supports for …

We have more than 1,200 schools now in DEIS. One in four of all our students now benefit from DEIS supports. That is significant and we see its benefit. Keeping young people in school at a rate of 96%, compared with the EU, is quite an achievement. The Minister of State and I are very conscious about children and young people with additional needs. For that reason, we have a number of concentrated pilots. The Deputy is quite correct that when the right supports are put in place, children and young people have an op…

The Government believes and is clear that a rise in the cost of living should never be a barrier to education. The Deputy will be aware that as part of the cost-of-living measures announced in budget 2023, the Government provided an additional €90 million to schools as once-off additional capitation funding. This investment, in addition to a range of other funds being made available to schools, sought to ensure that any increased operational costs for schools were not passed on to parents. In the context of the cur…

I want to be clear that section 64 of the Education Act, added to by the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, explicitly prohibits the charging of admission and enrolment fees in our schools. No fee can be charged for instruction in any subject that is on the school curriculum. There is absolutely no charge for education from that point of view. The Deputy referred to schools that might face challenges. I want to be clear, as I articulated earlier, that significant funding is available to schools. We have see…

I want to be very clear. The Government has been very cognisant of the demands placed on parents. The Deputy will be aware that this September the free schoolbooks programme will be rolled out in all our primary schools. We have had an expansion of DEIS with additional supports going into schools, and the hot school meals programme is being rolled out to our schools. School transport is another cost for parents. The Deputy will be very familiar with the fact that we have sought a considerable reduction at a cost of…

The Department has a considerable record in the delivery of schools buildings. More than 180 projects were completed last year to the highest standards. This year alone 300 school building projects are on hand, including 40 new school buildings and 260 projects of additional accommodation of various types. Under Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion between now and 2025 to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities throughout the country for the almost 1 million students and 100,000 staff …

As I have outlined, the school accommodation project was approved in 2020 and it has devolved to the school authority. The project is at stage 1. I understand there site-specific challenges for the delivery of the school building project. However, following a review of the project's design team submission by the Department's professional and technical officials the project proposal was deemed viable subject to two technical recommendations on site services and other engineering-related issues. The school authority …