To Deputy Crowe, I say well done. He raised quite a number of schools in his locality and I appreciate that. I recognise that the demands in schools can be as individual as they can be universal. The Deputy specifically named individual schools and I assure him my officials will engage. I will revert to the Deputy in due course with an update on those schools. Equally, I appreciate the point that Deputy Murnane O'Connor raised in terms of emergency works. They are by their name emergency works. Occasionally, school…

I acknowledge that the Deputy has previously raised the issue of Firhouse Educate Together school and I have referred it to the relevant officials. I appreciate the difficulties there are for all concerned and I am very aware of the preferences of the parents and young people, which the Deputy outlined. I guarantee that my officials will revert to the Deputy on that. On St. Paul's secondary school, this is a matter for Dublin Bus. It is not a school transport issue. I confirm to the Deputy that I will refer the mat…

I again confirm, absolutely and unequivocally, that I am hugely committed to the safe reopening of schools. I acknowledge once again that there has been complete buy-in from all of the stakeholders, including parents, teachers, students, managerial bodies and the entire school community to ensure that what is now an objective will be a reality at the end of August, early September, or whatever the normal time is for schools to reopen at. That is absolutely the intention, and I look forward to it being the realisati…

I appreciate the Deputy's acknowledgement of the free books scheme. It is a great achievement and one that we hope to roll out on a wider basis going forward. On the issue the Deputy raised of the release of the leaving certificate results, the next step is that students will re-engage with the portal regarding their desire to receive calculated grades. At that time also, the date for receipt of leaving certificate results will also be revealed. I acknowledge that this is very much a joined-up approach with third l…

I thank Deputies Whitmore and Brady for raising this matter. It provides me with the opportunity to clarify the current position regarding the accommodation needs of the North Wicklow Educate Together secondary school for this September. As the Deputies may be aware, the school was established in 2016 and has been accommodated since then, as the Deputies said, in a leased property on the Putland Road in Bray. The school opened with an enrolment of 36 pupils and numbers are growing incrementally, with an enrolment o…

I appreciate the case the Deputies are making and the frustration being experienced all around. All I can say is that my Department is doing all it can to expedite this matter as quickly as possible for the benefit of everybody, and in particular for the benefit of the students and staff of the school. I clarify once again that my Department is continuing to prioritise this matter and will be liaising with the school's patron when and as quickly as a further update is available.

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Before I address the specific issue raised, I would like to provide to the Members an outline of the extent of the school transport service. School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the 2019-20 school year, more than 120,000 children, including more than 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in more than 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the coun…

I appreciate that the Deputy has acknowledged the importance of what the summer scheme means. There was considerable difficulty in getting it on stream given that the announcement was made on 12 June. Schools were notified on 15 June and it began operation on 29 June. From that point of view, there was a difficulty in putting transport in place. I accept that the Deputy said that in her specific case, this transport seems to be in place. It is important to acknowledge that there is the opportunity for grant assista…

I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Scoil Chrónáin is an existing all-Irish co-educational primary school, under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin and centrally located in the village of Rathcoole. A building project to provide a new 16-classroom school plus a two-classroom special educational needs unit for the school is included in my Department's school building programme. The new building will be provided on a site adjacent to its existing site in Rathcoole, County Dublin. This site is bein…

I appreciate the Deputy's response. I think there is a clear acknowledgement in the reply I gave that the Department is committed to providing the facilities that the Deputy has mentioned. I will ensure that my Department officials meet with representatives of the school.

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter and acknowledge the unity they have presented here. Firhouse Educate Together secondary school opened in September 2018 in vacant classrooms in the permanent school building of Firhouse Educate Together primary school on an education campus shared with the permanent 16-classroom school for Gaelscoil na Giúise. In September 2019, the Department put in place arrangements with Gaelscoil na Giúise and its patron body, An Foras Pátrúnachta, to use some vacant classrooms in th…

I have listened to the Deputies and heard what they have said. I appreciate there is unanimity among the Deputies from the area on this issue. The Deputies have raised points from the perspectives of parents and children and I have heard what they have said. All I can say at this point is that my officials in the Department will continue to have ongoing communication with the patron bodies concerned and all options will be examined.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Before I address the specific issue, I would like to provide the Members of the House with an outline on the extent of the school transport service. School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2019-2020 school year, more than 120,000 children, including 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country…

I appreciate that the Deputy acknowledges the existence of the grant option and indeed the merits of this programme of which I am very supportive. I am not aware of the specifics of the three cases the Deputy mentioned. Perhaps he might make them available to my Department and my officials will take a look.

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle, as ucht an t-am agus an deis seo a thabhairt dom. Rachaidh mé gan mhoill chuig obair thábhactach an lae. Tairgim: Go n-ainmneoidh Dáil Éireann an Teachta Micheál Martin chun a cheaptha ag an Uachtarán mar Thaoiseach. I move: That Dáil Éireann nominate Deputy Micheál Martin for appointment by the President to be Taoiseach. "Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast." When the great playwright, William Shakespeare, composed these lines some 400 years ago, I imagine he never …

Is aoibhinn beatha an scoláire, a deir an dán. Is é sin mar a bhí, b'fhéidir, ach ní mar sin atá anois, in aon chor. "Aoibhinn Beatha an Scoláire", an often-quoted 17th century poem, suggests that the life of a student is beautiful and idyllic. It has now changed irrevocably. The suite of changes recently announced by the Department is seismic in nature and unquantifiable in its magnitude and future impact on the education system. I profoundly regret that the plan B option of hosting the traditional leaving certifi…

Many facts, statistics and truths regarding the Irish tourism industry will be disclosed in this Chamber this afternoon. To my mind, however, the most important truth, dare I say it, is that County Kerry is the jewel in the crown of the Irish tourism industry, hosting 2.2 million overseas and Irish visitors every year. Last year alone, tourism was worth some €661 million to Kerry and supported one in five of our workforce and their families. Now, all our hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfast accommodation, bus op…

Gabhaim buíochas agus déanaim comhghairdeas leis an gCeann Comhairle as a bheith tofa arís. John B. Keane, the late, great Kerry playwright, once remarked that to be of Kerry is both a gift and an awesome responsibility. To be a first-time Deputy from the kingdom of Kerry addressing this august Chamber on the opening day of the Thirty-third Dáil is also a gift and a responsibility, one that is humbling and daunting in equal measure. Gabhaim buíochas arís leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht an t-am agus an deis seo a t…