I appreciate the Deputy's comments on my office reverting to him in response to any queries he might have. Specifically regarding teaching principals, I am very conscious of that and of rural schools and was very pleased to be in a position to introduce the additional administrative day leave for teachers in order that teaching principals were guaranteed at least one day per week. We successfully ensured in the vast majority of cases, where a network of five schools or whatever clustered, that a designated day was …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cheist. My Department's commitment to supporting Irish-medium education and promoting the use of Irish in Irish-medium schools is evidenced by the progress which has been made by the Department, along with partners, in implementing the actions set out in the Government's 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, the five-year action plan for the Irish language and my Department's Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022. An estimated budget of €20.3 million, a significa…

I reiterate that there is an enormous commitment to this issue within the Department. The funding in excess of €20 million speaks for itself. Significant work has been done and supports put in place, not just for the teaching of the Irish language but also for providing supports to Irish-medium schools within Gaeltacht areas and, indeed, outside them. Work has commenced on the development of a new policy for Irish-medium education, as outlined in the programme for Government, with the view to providing a framework …

I welcome Deputy Ó Murchú's very positive comments in regard to the development of satellite schools. It is testament to people's innovation and absolute determination to find pathways forward where there might be difficulties, and to discover ways and means of addressing issues in order to be as inclusive and proactive as possible. We are hugely committed to continuing to do that into the future. The previous two speakers referred to issues relating to T1 agus T2. I absolutely appreciate the views that have been e…

A key part of the DEIS plan was the introduction of a new DEIS identification process based on an objective and statistics-based model to determine which schools merit inclusion in the DEIS programme. An extensive body of work has been undertaken in terms of the refinement of this model based on the latest school enrolment data and data available from the 2016 census under the HP deprivation index. A detailed quality analysis of the data has been carried out by members of the DEIS technical group, which contains re…

I absolutely appreciate the conviction with which the Deputy poses these questions. She has recognised that it is very important that there is a body of work that can be used as an appropriate framework for DEIS. It is at a very advanced stage - it is at consultation stage with stakeholders, which is important. We are in the final stages of it but it is an enormous body of work. There is an enormous number of schools within the remit of the Department. Conscious of that and recognising the needs of all schools, the…

In the first instance, I acknowledge, as Deputy Ó Laoghaire stated, that there is enormous cross-party support for, and recognition of, this area. I appreciate the points that Deputy Connolly made. I must say that for all the reasons outlined by the Deputy, a new DEIS identification process and mechanism based on statistical information will be found going forward. The important point here is that we get this right. The Deputy has spoken of fairness, access and inclusion. It is for all of those reasons that I am ve…

School secretaries and caretakers are valued members of the school community and the Department is fully aware of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools. I welcome the significant progress that has been made through the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, in recent days. This builds upon previous recommendations of an independent arbitrator for a cumulative pay increase of 10% between 2016 and 2019 and that a minimum hourly pay rate of €13 be phased in over that period. Fórsa trade…

Again, I acknowledge, as the Deputy has done, that considerable work has been done and it has demanded the co-operation of all involved. I acknowledge that in respect of the union, the Departments, given that this involves the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as well as my Department, and the WRC. To give some background, on 13 September the parties engaged at the WRC, whereby the Department, subject to the agreement of all elements of the claim, made an offer. That is important. We have referenced the p…

I appreciate the points the Deputies have made. They do not have to tell me the value of school secretaries and caretakers. I have worked all my teaching life in the school sector and I am very familiar with the work of school secretaries and, indeed, caretakers. Specifically on some of the points that have been made, a phased approach is being taken to these discussions. The first phase was on aligning the specific pay rates with those of a grade 3 clerical officer. However, there is an understanding and an agreem…

Managing ventilation is just one of a suite of public health measures in place to keep our schools safe. Updated guidance 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 website www.gov.ie . The overarching approach in the guidance is for schools to have windows open as fully as possible when classrooms…

I thank the Deputy. There is international demand for carbon dioxide monitors. We ordered them more than four months ago. We are moving into the fifth month now. Ninety-six percent of our primary schools are in possession of their allocation of carbon dioxide monitors. All of our special schools have received their allocation, and all of our post-primary schools have a minimum of ten monitors. Complementing the guidance already available to schools — the excellent guidance on the operation of ventilation in our sch…

I thank the Deputy for his question. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020-21 school year, more than 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7 million in 2020. All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on time for the 2…

I thank the Deputy. I appreciate the issues being brought forward to constituency offices. I am a rural Deputy myself and I understand that and the importance of the school transport system. We have made significant progress in the past year in addressing many of the issues that were problematic last year. This has been helped in no small measure by the review that is in place and as a consequence of the decision I made to ensure that the second nearest school would also be part of the terms of agreement for access…

I thank the Deputies. I confirm, once again, that the planning for school transport for the 2021-22 school year has proceeded on the basis that the public health measures in place at schools closed at the end of last year would remain as term began in this new school year. This included the recommendation from public health that post-primary services would operate at 50% capacity and that masks would be worn. However, as we have said, as the vaccination programme for children and post-primary services have rolled o…

I thank the Senator. I will read into the record the reply that has been provided by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, on the issue raised by the Senator. I appreciate the importance and significance of this issue for the people of Galway. I am pleased to provide an update on the Coirib go Cósta Galway city flood relief scheme. Galway City Council, as project sponsor and contracting authority, is leading the development of the Coirib go Cósta Galway city flood relief scheme for the city, with technical advic…

I will ensure that the Senator gets the reply. However, from my experience in my county, I appreciate the importance of projects of this nature and also the importance of speed, as the Senator outlined. I understand that, so I will certainly communicate that to the Minister of State.

As the Senator and the general public can appreciate, there has to be a staged process, which is an important process in terms of delivery. However, I appreciate the urgency that is necessary to benefit the immediate difficulty that people are experiencing. I will communicate that to the Minister of State.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I support the comments she made about the importance and significance of the work that is done by school escorts. However, before I address the specific issue, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport system. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020-21 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were transported daily …

I thank the Senator again for raising the matter. It is an important matter because there is valuable work ongoing. I can confirm that as this is amended and corrected, no one will be disadvantaged as a consequence of how it arose in the first place.