Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
396. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department is engaging with counterparts in Northern Ireland on curriculum development, teacher exchanges or shared educational initiatives. [62805/25]
View answerMy Department engages with our Education counterparts in Northern Ireland on a range of aspects of education policy and practice.
Under the North-South Ministerial Council Education Sectoral structure, a work programme has been agreed and is being implemented. This contains working groups as follows:
(a) Special Education Policy and Inclusion Working Group
(b) Educational Disadvantage Working Group
(c) Teacher Qualifications Working Group
(d) School, Youth & Teaching Exchanges Working Group
(e) Digital/Artificial Intelligence issues in schools and Education Working Group
(f) Early Years Education Working Group
(g) Cooperation under the Common Travel Area Education MOU Working Group
The work of these groups is monitored by the Ministers and is regularly reported on at bi-annual meetings between the Ministers.
There is cooperation under the PeacePlus Programme funded by both Departments and the EU, which includes work on shared learning in education and school and teacher exchanges.
Under the Shared Island Fund, cooperation on a North-South basis is being funded to address educational disadvantage through -
• The pilot programme, RAISE, which supports a whole of community approach to tackle educational disadvantage in Northern Ireland. There are policy and practical learnings for both Departments arising from this programme.
• The Teacher Research Exchange Project (T-REX) involves the linking of teachers’ evidence-based practice in the classroom with an on-line collaborative platform, enabling that effective research and practice to be shared between education professionals
• Creative Connections Programme enables training and Creative Connections in schools. This project enables teachers and artists in both jurisdictions to be trained together to work in teacher-artist partnerships in schools.
In addition, both Departments engage on policy matters, including sharing experience and practical knowledge.
