I move: That leave be given by the Dáil to introduce the following Supplementary Estimates for the service of the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2021:— Vote 20 — Garda Síochána ( Supplementary Estimate ). Vote 22 — Courts Service ( Supplementary Estimate ). Vote 24 — Justice ( Supplementary Estimate ). Vote 26 — Education ( Supplementary Estimate ). Vote 30 — Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( Supplementary Estimate ). Vote 31 — Transport ( Supplementary Estimate ). Vote 34 — Housing, Local Government and…

I move: That, subject to leave being given to introduce the following Supplementary Estimates for the service of the year ending on 31st December, 2021, the Supplementary Estimates be referred to the following Select Committees, as appropriate, pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)(b) and 215(3), which shall report back to the Dáil by no later than 7th December, 2021:— Vote 20 — Garda Síochána ( Supplementary Estimate ) — Select Committee on Justice. Vote 22 — Courts Service ( Supplementary Estimate ) — Select Committe…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an ábhar seo a ardú. Tugann sé deis dom an seasamh maidir le háiteanna iar-bhunscoile trí mheán na Gaeilge i mBaile Átha Cliath a leagan amach don Teach. Úsáidfidh mé idir Ghaeilge agus Bhéarla sa ráiteas seo. Chun pleanáil a dhéanamh don soláthar scoile, agus anailís a dhéanamh ar na sonraí ábhartha, déanann mo Roinn an tír a roinnt i 314 limistéar pleanála scoile. Úsáidtear córas GIS le sonraí ó raon leathan foinsí le fáil amach cá dtiocfaidh an brú ar áiteanna scoile ar fud na…

Tuigim go bhfuil an-spéis ag an Teachta san ábhar seo. Tá mo Roinn ag déanamh gach iarracht Gaelscoileanna agus Gaelcholáistí ach go háirithe a chur chun cinn. Faoi mar a dúirt mé cheana, new schools are established by the Department on the basis of identified demographic demand in an area and only after consideration of the capacity of existing schools to absorb the expected school place demand. As already stated in the context of the development of schools, two new Gaelcholáistí were established in Dublin city in…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which has been raised consistently with me by Deputy Calleary and Senator Chambers. As Deputy Ring outlined, I met a deputation from the school and was happy to do so. Nevertheless, this Topical Issue matter gives me an opportunity to set out for the House the position with regard to Holy Trinity National School. Holy Trinity is a co-educational primary school under Church of Ireland patronage. The school had an enrolment of 63 pupils in the 2020-21 school year and a staf…

It is my primary objective, at all times, that all schools are treated fairly in the process. The Deputy will accept that I have an obligation under the public spending code to maximise the use of State assets. Therefore, consideration must be given to the master plan. I am obliged to do that but I hear very clearly the case the Deputy makes. I assure him that the Department is in consultation with the local authority and is in the process of finalising the assessment of the potential and possibilities on the site.…

It would not be appropriate for me, as the Deputy will appreciate, to comment directly on an individual school and that is not the purpose of the Topical Issue matter. It has always been and will continue to be the case that we will operate on the back of full public health advice. All the operations within our schools, from their reopening and the measures we put in place at that time, have been under the direction of public health authorities, and those authorities continue to make judgments on the operation of o…

I thank the Deputy. I am inundated with invitations to County Wexford and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, is consistently inviting me. I accept the Deputy's invitation also. When my diary allows it, I will be absolutely happy to visit. I am certainly very conscious of the Deputy's invitation. I appreciate the case made by the Deputy. There is positive news in what I have to say and I appreciate that the Deputy has acknowledged that. The Department currently has a significant pipeline of projects in train for …

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil as ucht an deis seo a thabhairt dom. I am pleased to confirm to this House a €9.2 billion investment in education as a consequence of budget 2022. It is a significant investment but it is both richly appropriate and deserved by the education sector. From my experience as a teacher I know of the transformative power of education. It has power to facilitate every child and young person not just in reaching their supposed full potential but to go beyond it. There is power in educatio…

I thank the Deputy. Ensuring that schools can open and operate sustainably has been a key priority for me as Minister for Education. To support this objective, the Department of Education has engaged extensively with all of the education stakeholders, the Department of Health and the public health team in the HSE. All schools across Ireland have fully reopened safely after the summer break, which is hugely welcome, as the Deputy acknowledged. Public health has reviewed the measures put in place to ensure safe opera…

I thank the Deputy. I will take the opportunity to refute the Deputy's assertion that I was less than forthright about the changes that were impending at the time of the meeting. The Deputy referenced the fact that all of society knew there were going to be changes and that there was a particular direction of travel. However, that direction of travel was not confirmed to me by the CMO. As the Deputy is aware, the CMO and the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, released their final recommendation yesterday…

I thank the Deputy. On the matter of guidance for schools, I will again say to the Deputy that the confirmation was received only yesterday evening. It was the recommendation of the CMO and NPHET, accepted by the Minister for Health. Guidelines are issuing to schools today on foot of that recommendation and will be with the schools today. I acknowledge that public health and other issues were addressed by the CMO and by various individuals involved in public health at various times yesterday and will no doubt be ad…

Managing ventilation is just one of a suite of public health measures in place to keep our schools safe. Updated guidance for schools on practical steps for the deployment of good ventilation practices in schools was provided at the end of May, following the work of an expert group that carefully considered the role of ventilation in managing Covid-19. A copy of the guidance is published on the gov.ie website. The overarching approach in the guidance is for schools to have windows open as fully as possible when cla…

I have to disagree with much of what the Deputy has said. It was the view of the expert group under Professor Wenger that portable CO2 monitors should be provided. The Deputy should be mindful that monitors are just that; they monitor when it is best to increase ventilation. This might mean opening additional windows or doors or whatever the case might be. They just give an instruction. That is all that they do. I acknowledge that there is already excellent practice within the schools sector. Indeed, Professor Weng…

There is absolutely no question of a blind eye being turned to anything within our schools. I want to be very clear that all of the mitigation measures recommended by the public health officials are in place in our schools and remain in our schools despite what is happening in wider society. These are rigorous measures. The advice offered yesterday is the best expert medical advice of the CMO and NPHET, who have collectively reviewed all of the population data relating to the cohort of children under 13 years of ag…

In the programme for Government, there is a strong commitment to making further progress in reducing the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools and supporting small schools. As part of budget 2021 measures, the Government has sought to deliver on this commitment by the announcement of a one-point change to the primary staffing schedule and the introduction of a three-point reduction in the number of pupils required to retain a teacher. For the 2021-22 school year, the staffing schedule is on the basis of one classr…

I appreciate the Deputy's acknowledgement of the progress made to date. I know from my experience in the classroom the importance of continuing to pursue this direction. I reiterate the strong Government commitment to doing that. It is worth repeating that 25:1 is an historic low in our schools. A budget of €8.9 billion is significant, particularly when one looks at other Departments, and shows the priority that is placed on education. We are further resourcing schools this year through the CLASS programme, which i…

I do not disagree with the Deputy about the importance of the issue. In the past year we have made significant inroads in this area. A further commitment is that we are making available to schools additional teaching resources in terms of teaching and learning for pupils, who may even more so this year have felt disadvantaged because of Covid. That is significant. An 800-pupil school will get 900 hours, which is 51 weeks teaching or one and a half full posts for a year. It is a significant additional investment in …

It is important to acknowledge that apprenticeships represent a meaningful, valuable and realistic pathway for all learners. That is hugely important. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science published the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 earlier this year. Under the plan, the development of apprenticeship taster courses will be explored as part of transition year and senior cycle reform with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. The leaving certif…

I am very much open on this, and the Deputy is pushing an open door here. I absolutely want the new senior cycle, as we are talking about senior cycle review, to offer maximum potential and possibility to all students. As for even more pre-apprenticeship courses, as the Deputy referred to, pre-apprenticeship programmes are targeted at young people aged, we will say, from 16 to 24 and the aim is progression to an apprenticeship. They are designed to give young people the skills, confidence and connections they need …