I wish to confirm to the Deputy that the majority of schools have a general purpose room or physical education hall and practically all schools have outdoor play areas. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including community halls, public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. Investment and expenditure on PE halls is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the school building programme. The provision of PE halls and outdoor hard play areas such as basketball courts form part…

As I have previously outlined, the Department has a significant pipeline of projects to be delivered over the coming years to meet capacity need managed under the large-scale capital programme and the additional school accommodation scheme. This involves in excess of 1,200 school building projects across various stages of planning, design, tender and construction. The current delivery status of these projects is listed on a county by county basis on the website, as I have said to the Deputy. There are currently 377…

I want to be very clear to the Deputy there is an absolute commitment from the Department to provide all the necessary provision and opportunities necessary within the education sector. It is true to say we have presided over the single greatest investment in education in the most recent budget. Equally, there is a breadth of vision for education with respect to the provision of new builds, senior cycle reform as discussed earlier and the provision for special educational needs referred to by the Minister of State,…

I thank the Deputy. I appreciate her taking the time to raise the question. Budget 2022, as the Deputy is aware, has provided for an allocation of €18 million for 2022 and €32 million for 2023 to extend the DEIS programme to further schools with the highest levels of disadvantage. This represents an increase of over 20% in funding for the DEIS programme and will enable an expansion in 2022 of the programme to further schools. This year the Department will spend in the region of €150 million on providing supports fo…

I acknowledge that the Deputy is particularly invested in this issue. I would venture to say that the vast majority of Deputies are also invested in it, but she has been a particularly strong advocate for the schools she referenced and for the roll-out, enhancement and extension of the DEIS programme. She does not need to tell me - I am well aware of the importance of the DEIS programme. It is for that reason I am particularly pleased that during budget discussion and engagement I secured an additional allocation f…

I appreciate the case the Deputy made. She is correct that the hot meals programme for schools does not fall within my remit but she will be aware that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, made some very positive announcements about it this week. I also acknowledge the other additional supports available to schools outside of the DEIS programme, notwithstanding its importance and the supports it provides and, as I said, the expectation that we are now looking forward to rolling it out even further. For example, I refere…

On 30 June 2021, I announced that adjustments would be made to the 2022 leaving certificate and junior cycle examinations. As in previous years, adjustments were developed in conjunction with the leaving certificate advisory group, which is important. This group includes representation from students, parents, teachers and schools. Details of these adjustments were issued to schools in August 2021 to ensure that students and staff could familiarise themselves with any changes. These arrangements acknowledge the disr…

I acknowledge that the provision of an opportunity, in the midst of a pandemic, for students to avail of the accredited grades process and written exams was a remarkable achievement for the education sector. I acknowledge school leadership and school communities who, in a very difficult and challenging time, really pulled together to ensure that the classes of 2021 and 2020 would have an opportunity to find a pathway forward to sit a final State exam. One of the most interesting learnings from the process was the f…

Clear guidance has been given to schools on how the exams will operate for 2022. This has been formulated via the advisory group, which includes parents, teachers, students and school management and, therefore, it has been the widest engagement of consultation. Those amendments and their offering of a wider choice has been communicated to schools. Students are now very familiar with that opportunity. Equally, I was clear in making the decision that a second opportunity for taking the leaving certificate exams would…

Having worked for many years in the classroom, I appreciate that exam time and most notably, leaving certificate exam time, can be a stressful time for students. Of course, the pandemic has added to the additional challenges faced by all in the school sector. The decisions taken by Government on leaving certificate 2021, in the context of the impact on teaching and learning of the Covid-19 pandemic, were taken with the best interests of students in mind. The NCCA's advisory report on the senior cycle review has bee…

It is important to point out, as I have said previously, that within the education system, we have operated successfully on the basis of partnership and inclusion. The advisory group is advising on the examinations and how we would progress and was supportive and helpful in finding a pathway forward for the classes of 2020 and 2021. This group comprises students, parents, teachers and school representatives and, collectively, they agreed a process for the accommodations that would be made for 2020, 2021 and indeed,…

I want to be clear that there is a mechanism in place in terms of the measures we bring in for accommodations, such as those for leaving certificate 2022. We work with the advisory group, which is a representative group. Significant measures are also in place. If there is to be a change in any public health advice to require any additional measures, we will keep everything under review. The measures introduced earlier are quite comprehensive and add to previous measures in place. We have made clear CPD, in the form…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It gives me the opportunity to set out for the House the position with regard to post-primary places in north Dublin for September 2022 and onwards. To plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, to identify where increasing school place requirements and associated accommodation needs will arise. However,…

As I previously outlined, in quantifying the specific requirements for September 2022, the Department is assessing its nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary levels across the 314 school planning areas through a geographical information system, GIS. The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including information from the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Education school enrolment databases and much more to identify…

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to speak with her today. I express my gratitude for her very positive comments on the school sector and Department. She is correct that a significant body of work has been undertaken by the entire education sector to ensure our schools could operate safely and continue to operate. It is a significant achievement that today I can say that we in the education sector cater for 1 million students in 4,000 schools with 100,000 staff. They are not operating without challenges in pa…

I thank the Senator and appreciate her absolute honesty on the phrasing of the question. I assure her that the Department will be very open to receiving an email regarding the issue she has raised.

I thank the Senator and acknowledge his very positive and proactive engagement regarding all issues in the education sector in his constituency. He has been particularly vocal regarding this matter. I acknowledge his positive engagement and interaction with me. He is personally invested in seeing this advance. I appreciate having the opportunity to update the Senator on where we are at in this point in time. The site acquisition process has been progressed in respect of the requirement in question and in line with …

I thank the Senator. I want to articulate my understanding of the dynamism that operates within the school and the provision of excellence in education. I am very impressed that all of the benefits are in place for students in terms of creating a school environment, including the establishment of a student council, to which the Senator referred. I am a great admirer of the operation of school councils in our schools. They are proactive and positive contributors to school communities. I appreciate all that is being …

The Senator will appreciate that I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State in the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, who is unavailable today. I thank the Senator for raising what I consider to be a timely discussion in the Seanad on an important matter. I am pleased to have this opportunity to inform the House about progress in this important area. Events such as International Men's Day and Men's Health Week always give us a great opportunity to come together to raise awareness of men's health, as the S…

I thank the Senator for his significant contribution to the House today on this important topic. Any opportunity we have to shine a light on the discussion on men's health and to be proactive in this regard must be seized. As the Senator will be aware from what I said earlier, significant progress has been made on this. As he has indicated, there is a responsibility on all of us collectively to play our part. A range of factors needs to be taken into account when we apply ourselves collectively to such an important…