Written Answers Nos. 334-349
334. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average class size of primary schools, by county and local authority area, in the 2025-2026 school year, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54546/26]
View answerPlease find attached 2025-2026 average mainstream class size by county and local authority.
Tables were collated from the 2025-2026 class tables which can be found at the link below: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/class-size-information-at-individual-primary-school-level/.
Priority was given in recent Budgets to reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the most favourable ratio ever seen at primary level. Teacher allocations for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools have also been improved and now stand at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively. In 2015, teachers were allocated to primary schools at a general average of 28 pupils for every one teacher. In the same 10 year period, average class sizes in primary schools have improved from 24.9 to 22.2 and the pupil : teacher ratio shows the ratio of pupils to teachers improve from 16:1 to 12.8:1. In addition to the reductions in the teacher allocation ratio, a three-point reduction in the retention schedule, which was introduced in 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts.
2025-2026 average mainstream class size by county and local authority
335. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children who will benefit from the free schoolbooks scheme at primary level for the 2026-2027 academic year, by local authority area, in tabular form. [54547/26]
View answerThe Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families.
2025 saw the introduction of the final phase of the free schoolbooks scheme, with the extension of the scheme to Senior Cycle students in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. In the 2025/26 school year, for the first time, all children and young people enrolled in primary, special and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme were provided with schoolbooks/eBooks and core classroom resources. Parents and guardians were not asked to purchase or to make a financial contribution to the school towards the cost of these items.
With a total funding package of over €160 million available in 2026, the Schoolbooks Scheme will continue to benefit almost one million children and young people and is helping to ease the financial burden facing families at back-to-school time.
This means every child in the Free Education Scheme in our country continues to receive free schoolbooks/eBooks and core classroom resources.
This delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to provide free schoolbooks to all children in the free education system and introduce changes as needed to the operation of this scheme.
Book grant funding issued to primary schools in May 2026 so that schools have enough time to implement the scheme in advance of the new school year.
My department has also allocated an administration support grant to schools for the forthcoming school year, based on the size of the school to assist with the additional work required in order to implement the scheme. Payment of the Administration Support Grant issued to primary schools in May 2026.
The numbers of primary students who will benefit from this scheme in the current school year by local authority are detailed in the attached document.
336. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children who will benefit from the free schoolbooks scheme at post-primary level for the 2026-2027 academic year, by local authority area, in tabular form. [54548/26]
View answerThe Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families.
2025 saw the introduction of the final phase of the free schoolbooks scheme, with the extension of the scheme to Senior Cycle students in post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. In the 2025/26 school year, for the first time, all children and young people enrolled in primary, special and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme were provided with schoolbooks/eBooks and core classroom resources. Parents and guardians were not asked to purchase or to make a financial contribution to the school towards the cost of these items.
With a total funding package of over €160 million available in 2026, the Schoolbooks Scheme will continue to benefit almost one million children and young people and is helping to ease the financial burden facing families at back-to-school time.
This means every child in the Free Education Scheme in our country continues to receive free schoolbooks/eBooks and core classroom resources.
This delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to provide free schoolbooks to all children in the free education system and introduce changes as needed to the operation of this scheme.
Book grant funding issued to post-primary schools in April 2026 so that schools have enough time to implement the scheme in advance of the new school year.
My department has also allocated an administration support grant to schools for the forthcoming school year, based on the size of the school to assist with the additional work required in order to implement the scheme. Payment of the Administration Support Grant issued to primary schools in May 2026.
The numbers of post-primary students who will benefit from this scheme in the current school year by local authority are detailed in the attached document.
337. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of Ukrainian pupils enrolled in Irish schools at primary level, by county as of June 30th 2026 or latest date available; the number enrolled at post-primary level, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54549/26]
View answerPlease find attached requested data. Data provided is the number of Ukrainian students enrolled in primary and post-primary schools at the end of academic year 2025-2026 who arrived in Ireland since the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2022.
Regional Language and Education Teams (REALT) were established in March 2022 as part of the Government's response to the war in Ukraine. There are 16 REALTs, hosted by the 16 ETBs. In November 2022, the REALT remit was expanded to include families in the International Protection process.
Each REALT is headed by a REALT coordinator, whose primary role is to assist newly arrived students secure school places.
REALTs coordinate with TESS, NEPS, NCSE, Bus Éireann, SICAP and school management bodies to support access to education.
As of 18 June 2026, 17,389 pupils from Ukraine and as of May 2026 6,303 children residing in International Protection and emergency accommodation centres were enrolled in schools.
Ukrainian students enrolled in primary and post-primary schools by county
338. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of school building projects that have been completed, by county, since 2020; the funding allocated for same, by county, since 2020; the breakdown of the total number of projects currently under construction, per county; the breakdown of the total number of projects currently in planning and design, per county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54550/26]
View answerMy department is delivering significant projects and continues to progress further important projects. Since 2020, my department has invested over €7 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,500 school building projects along with circa 4,300 small-scale improvement works to meet priority maintenance needs and advance energy efficiency and climate goal.
In addition, repurposing and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely, local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best practice in inclusion and integration. Circa 80% of new special classes in 2025/26 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation. This investment has delivered real benefits for school communities.
In the order of 260 to 300 school building projects are on site at any given time, including 29 new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. A further seventy projects are at tender stage, including nineteen new school buildings.
This summer, 297 schools are approved to undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme.
In addition, since 2020 a total of 2486 special classes have been sanctioned, of which 584 were sanctioned for September 2026.
The attached table provides a county-by-county breakdown of school building projects completed since 2020 (including funding allocated), projects currently under construction, and projects at planning and design stage.
The current status of all projects is set out under item number ten at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/building-works-for-the-construction-extension-and-refurbishment-of-schools/. This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
339. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the amount of funding allocated to each county as part of the minor works grant in each of the years 2020 to 2025, and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54551/26]
View answerUnder the Department’s NDP Sectoral Plan published in January 2026 and in line with programme for Government commitment, clarity and certainty has been provided to the school system in relation to confirming the December/ January period as the annual timeline for the payment of the Minor Works Grant and ICT Grant.
Since 2020, close to €340 million in Minor Works Grants and Enhanced Minor Works Grants, have been allocated to schools. This includes the payment of Minor Works Grants totalling almost €30 million for the school year 2026/2027 which has issued in December 2025.
Primary and special schools need not apply for Minor Works Grant aid. Under the scheme, funding is made available to all primary and special schools on the following basis:
€5,500 basic grant plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil enrolled in the school on the 30th of September of the year prior to the issue of the grant. The €74 rate applies to a special needs pupil attending a special school or attending a special class attached to a mainstream school.
Schools have the autonomy to use this funding for maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds. Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed, to decide how best to use this funding to address their particular needs.
The next payment of Minor Works Grant for school year 2027/2028 will issue in either December 2026 or January 2027.
In recent years, my department’s approach has been to pay the Minor Works Grant to schools in advance of the start of the following school year, in order to facilitate a better lead in period for schools to plan any maintenance or minor works during the summer period.
Please see Table below regarding funding allocated to each County for years 2020-2025.
Table includes additional payments to schools in 2020 and 2021 during COVID.
340. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the amount of funding allocated to each county as part of the summer works scheme in each of the years 2020 to 2025, and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54552/26]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis and, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The SWS operates on a multi-annual basis for categories of works such as roof works, window replacement, mechanical and electrical works, external works etc.
Since 2020 my department has provided funding to the value of €210m under the Summer works scheme to schools. The below table sets out the funding provided under the Summer Works Scheme for the years 2020 to 2025 as per the Deputy's request.
As the deputy is aware in November 2025, my department announced the first tranche of approvals under the new Climate Action Summer Works Scheme for 2026. 297 projects were approved to proceed and involve primary, post primary and special schools, along with projects in all counties and across all categories of works.
As schools approved under the first tranche of approvals are yet complete their tender process for their individual projects it is not possible to provide details of funding being allocated by county for 2026 as yet.
342. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of EU Presidency policy and administrative officers now employed on temporary contracts across her Department, in Ireland and abroad; if these individuals can apply to internal civil service competitions for these temporary contracts; the plans being developed to retain these individuals once their contracts cease, given they will have extensive and intimate knowledge of EU and Irish institutional operations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54591/26]
View answerMy Department currently employs one temporary Presidency Policy Officer at Administrative Officer grade to support Ireland's preparations for and delivery of the EU Presidency.
This appointment is temporary and is due to conclude on 31 December 2026. As the appointment was established to meet the specific and time-bound requirements associated with the EU Presidency, there are no plans to retain this officer beyond the expiry of that contract. In line with the terms and conditions governing the appointment, this officer is not eligible to apply for internal Civil Service competitions.
The officer is, however, eligible to apply for open recruitment competitions conducted by Public Jobs, to compete on the same basis as any other eligible applicant. The experience gained in this role will also provide the officer with valuable and credible examples of skills, competencies and achievements that can be drawn upon when applying for future opportunities.
343. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding all actions in each of the Climate Action Plans 2021 to 2025 under the remit of her Department; to provide a breakdown of the legacy actions remaining, broken down by the year of the climate action plan they were initially included in; and the estimated timelines for completion, in tabular form. [54626/26]
View answerI can advise that, there are currently no outstanding legacy actions from Climate Action Plans 2021 to 2025 for the Department of Education and Youth.
My Department continues to advance the measures set out in its School Sector Climate Action Mandate and School Sector Climate Action Technical Roadmap, with implementation ongoing in support of the Government's 2030 and 2050 climate objectives.
344. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average cost of insurance for special schools on a per pupil basis. [54639/26]
View answerThis government is fully committed to supporting students with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.
As outlined in the Governance Manual for primary schools, which includes special schools, in general, it is the duty of the board of management (delegated by the trustees in schools where there are trustees) to put in place comprehensive insurance cover, i.e. public liability, employer liability, contents insurance, for the school.
The Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools and the Programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure that schools can meet the elevated day-to-day running costs.
The commitment in the Programme for Government builds on the progress which has been made in recent years. The department secured €39 million in Budget 2026 towards increased capitation funding for primary, post-primary and special schools to provide additional financial support towards their running costs. This will see an increase in the standard capitation rates paid to schools of €50 per pupil for primary schools from €224 to €274 and of €20 per student for post-primary schools from €386 to €406. This will also allow for an increase of €20 in capitation rates for Urban Band One DEIS primary schools, increasing the mainstream pupil rate in these schools to €294.
The increased capitation rates will also see special schools now receive the same rates of mainstream capitation, for young people aged 12 and over, as for their peers in mainstream post-primary schools. These increases will take effect from September 2026. This funding will benefit schools around the country in managing their day-to-day running costs.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
345. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools the ETB arranges IPB insurance for; and the coverage this insurance typically provides. [54640/26]
View answerOn this question, officials from my Department are liaising directly with all ETBs to ascertain this information. The compilation is being prepared and completed as a matter of urgency and will be shared with the Deputy as soon as possible.
346. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools that have IPB insurance; and the coverage this insurance typically provides. [54641/26]
View answerThis information is not currently available but is being pursued as a matter of urgency and I wish to assure Deputy Doherty that it will be provided as soon as possible to him.
347. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average cost for water on a per pupil basis being paid by public schools. [54643/26]
View answerMy Department collates available data from school authorities as part of broader efforts to provide for an efficient and effective education system.
The Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU) collates schools’ financial data in accordance with Department of Education and Youth Circular 0060/2017 (primary schools), and Circular 0002/2018 (voluntary and community & comprehensive schools).
The Department currently analyses financial data relating to primary, voluntary secondary, and community and comprehensive schools. This information is derived from the annual financial returns submitted by schools to the FSSU, a subset of which is subsequently provided to inform financial analysis and strategic decision-making.
The data collated by FSSU is provided by individual schools and as such is subject to certain data quality limitations. Furthermore, the data provided to my Department does not include fee-charging or Education and Training Board schools.
While data limitations currently prevent an analysis of the cost of water for each student, I can confirm that 2,434 schools reported paying ‘water related expenses’ in the 2024/2025 school year.
I am committed to improving the quality of these data; officials of the Department are working with school authorities to increase the accuracy of these data.
349. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth the proposals to increase capacity at a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54668/26]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for students with special educational needs.
Special schools publish their admission notice which sets out the number of places available for the next enrolment intake. Capacity is subject to multiple factors that are dependent on the individual needs of the student.
There continues to be an increasing need to provide additional special school places to support students with complex needs. To meet this need, sixteen new special schools have been established in recent years, and capacity has been expanded in a number of others. Five of these were established for the 2025/26 school year in counties, Cork, Dublin (2), Monaghan and Tipperary.
The new special schools established over recent years have focused on providing additional places in our largest urban areas – Dublin and Cork. The department and NCSE have already begun planning in relation to further expanding special school capacity for the 2026/27 school year. It is estimated that a further 300 new special school places may be required each year for the coming years.
When looking to provide additional capacity the department’s preferred option is to increase provision in existing special schools if possible. Where this is not possible in a region, the department and NCSE will consider the need to establish a new special school.
In planning for increased special school places, my department and the NCSE review all of the available data on the growing need for special school places across the country. This involves a detailed analysis of enrolment trends and the potential for existing special schools in a region to expand.
Part of the forward planning process as to where new classes, schools or expansion is required looks at how far students are travelling to access an education that meets their needs. This is an important factor which has been incorporated into the decision-making process. Consideration is also given to the information the NCSE hold at local level on the number of children and young people seeking a special school place in a region.
In relation to the school referred to by the deputy the school is now at capacity and additional accommodation is required to facilitate further enrolments. My department is engaging with the patrons in relation to a permanent modular extension and subject to planning permission there are plans to commence works later in 2026.
My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for students with special educational needs and will continue to review and monitor the situation in County Monaghan and indeed nationwide as to where new special schools are required.
