Thursday, 1 Jul 2021

Written Answers Nos. 38-53

Schools Building Projects

Questions (38, 67)

Brian Stanley

Question:

38. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Education the estimated total cost and capital being made available for the construction of a school (details supplied). [34715/21]

Brian Stanley

Question:

67. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Education the timeline for the expected beginning and completion of construction work at a school (details supplied). [34714/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 67 together.

The brief for the project referred to by the Deputy is to provide a new replacement school building designed for special needs pupils on a greenfield site. The project will deliver a single storey building, providing an 8 classroom special school and appropriate ancillary accommodation including a General Purpose room, a Home Economics Room, a Daily Living Skills room, library and resource area.

The major building project referred to by the Deputy has recently been authorised to progress to Stage 2b – Detailed Design which includes applications for all statutory consents, including Planning Permission, Disability Access Certificate and Fire Safety Certificate and also the preparation of tender documentation. The Planning Permission Application was received by the Local Authority on June 1st 2021. Until the final grant of statutory applications has been received from the local authority, and the Stage 2(b) submission has been received by my Department for review, it is not possible to give a definitive timeline with regard to an expected on site date.

This major building project is included in my Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan. Due to commercial sensitivities it is not possible to provide details of funding in respect of this school.

School Enrolments

Questions (39)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

39. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education her plans to address the shortage of secondary school places for children in the catchment area surrounding Milltown, County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35295/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

My Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional post-primary school places in a number of school planning areas including Killorglin-Miltown School Planning Area (SPA)

Where capacity issues arise it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:

- Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area

- School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there are places in other schools in the town/area

- Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school there are not available to all pupils

- External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area

Until these issues are discussed with the relevant school authorities, the true extent of any capacity issue will only become known. My Department has been engaging with all school authorities in Killorglin Milltown SPA in relation to post-primary school places for September 2021 and all available options are being considered.

My Department is currently considering an application for additional accommodation from one of the post-primary in the SPA and I understand there may spare capacity in another post-primary school in the area.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (40)

Pauline Tully

Question:

40. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education the efforts she has made in respect of implementing a review of the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004; if this will be a full legislative review; if it will update all of the provisions within the Act to better reflect the contemporary understanding of disability and best practice for inclusive education as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; if the review will investigate the underlying rationale as to the reason outstanding provisions were not implemented; if she will establish a working roadmap to fully implement and update the Act which will include appropriate resourcing and costings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35352/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education

I wish to advise the Deputy that a number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 have been commenced. The commenced provisions include those establishing the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and those providing for an inclusive approach to the education of children with special educational needs.

The following sections of the EPSEN Act were commenced in 2005.

Section 1 – Interpretation

Section 2 - providing for the inclusive education of children with Special Educational Needs

Section 14 – placing certain duties on schools

Sections 19 to 37 - placing the Council on a statutory footing.

Section 39 - placing certain duties on Health Boards

Sections 40 to 53 - amending the Education Act

Schedule 1 – providing for meetings and membership of the Council

Schedule 2 providing for the Chief Executive Officer of the Council. The remaining sections of the Act have yet to be commenced. The Sections of the EPSEN Act which have not been implemented are those which would have conferred a statutory entitlement to – - an educational assessment for all children with special educational needs.

- consequent development of a statutory individual educational plan (IEP).

- the delivery of detailed educational services on foot of this plan.

- an independent appeals process.

The NCSE estimated, in its Plan for the Implementation of the EPSEN Act Report, which was published in 2006, that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to fully implement the EPSEN Act.

The view of my Department, at the time, was that the level of investment required could be significantly greater than that envisaged in the NCSE report. Legal advice also indicated that the EPSEN Act, as it is currently constituted, may not be implemented on a phased, or age cohort, basis.

Revised estimates of the amount of additional expenditure required to fully implement the remaining sections of the EPSEN Act have not recently been conducted. The estimated level of additional expenditure required, to implement the outstanding sections of the Act, would have to take into account annual demographic growth and service developments in the area of special educational needs, pricing adjustments and salary cost differentials on an ongoing basis. Estimates would also have to be made as to the number of pupils who may now currently qualify for the statutory service provisions envisaged by the EPSEN Act.

The Government is committed to helping every child, particularly those with special educational needs, to fulfil their potential.

In 2021 the Department of Education and Skills will invest approximately €2 Billion in the area of special educational needs support.

The Government has committed to consulting with stakeholders on how best to progress aspects of the EPSEN Act on a non-statutory basis.

A range of consultations with Education Partners and Stakeholders took place in relation to the development of a new model for allocating special education teachers over the course of 2017. The new model was introduced for all schools from September 2017.

Further consultations took place with education partners and stakeholders in the context of the undertaking of a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme and will continue in relation to the implementation of recommendations contained in this report.

Additional powers have also been provided to the National Council for Special Educational to designate a school place for a person with special educational needs, which is now provided for in the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018.

While awaiting the full implementation of the EPSEN Act, the NCSE has also published a number of policy advice papers which make recommendations aimed at developing a better or more effective alternative to the current resource allocation model, and which aims to move the system towards ultimate implementation of the EPSEN Act.

It should also be noted, however, that since EPSEN was enacted, the Department’s policy on supporting children with special educational needs has changed and evolved on foot of evidence based policy advice from the NCSE which takes account of international perspectives.

Significantly, the focus of special needs education provision has changed from a model that is diagnosis led to one which is driven by the needs of the child. This is a substantially different view to the one underlying the EPSEN Act. The levels of investment by Government in special education has increased to facilitate the underlying reforms required to implement and embed the needs based approach.

This Government will continue to prioritise investment in the area of special education support. Ongoing investment and reform will continue to see improvements made in this area.

I have also indicated that one of my priorities as Minister for Special Education and Inclusion is: “Updating our Laws: Reviewing and updating the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act.”

Any review of the Act will take into account the extent of additional investment which has been made in special educational services since 2004, with some €2 Billion per year now being spent of special educational supports.

It will also take into account the range of reforms which have taken place in recent years including the development of new allocation models which are not based primarily on a response to assessment as policy advice has indicated that requirement of diagnosis can create a risk of children being diagnosed as having a special educational need for resource allocation purposes, rather than for health reasons. Also, that as there is a spectrum of ability and disability within every special education disability category, account must be taken of need, as well as diagnosis.

School Transport

Questions (41)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

41. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Education the status of the school bus transport scheme issue that has been repeatedly identified in County Clare in particular the concessionary ticket issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35349/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.

All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and are offered seats where capacity exists after all eligible children have been catered for.

My Department recently commenced a review of the School Transport Scheme. Following commencement of this review in February 2021 and a detailed analysis and report conducted by the Technical Working Group in the interim period, the Steering Group recently presented me with its initial interim report, a report on eligibility with an examination of issues for mainstream pupils relating to the nearest and next nearest school.

Following consideration of this report, I have approved the extension of temporary alleviation measures which allow for students who are otherwise eligible for school transport but are attending their second nearest school and have applied and paid on time. This will result in transport being provided for an estimated additional 1,800 post-primary pupils in the 2021/2022 school year, who otherwise would not be accommodated under the scheme. This arrangement will be in place for the coming school year pending completion of the full review of the School Transport Scheme.

Wider considerations relating to the objectives of the scheme and the criteria for eligibility will take place in the next phase of the review which is now underway. The Steering Group will continue to report to me on an interim basis as the review progresses, with a view to presenting a final report with recommendations on the future operation of the Department’s School Transport Scheme.

Scoileanna Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta

Questions (42)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

42. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh den Aire Oideachais cén uair a chomhlíonfaidh sí an gealltanas a tugadh do scoileanna Uíbh Ráthach go mbronnfar stádas eisceachtúil orthu mar chosaint in aghaidh a ndúnta agus deis a thabhairt don cheantar Gaeltachta seo chun fáis agus teaghlaigh a bhfuil páistí óga acu a mhealladh chuig an gceantar. [35285/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

Le blianta beaga anuas, tá gníomhartha curtha i bhfeidhm ag mo Roinn chun na tairseacha ceapacháin agus coinneála i scoileanna beaga a fheabhsú, scoileanna beaga ar nós Scoil an Ghleanna, Scoil Náisiúnta Cillín Liath agus Scoil Mhichíl Naofa san áireamh.

I measc na ngníomhartha, áirítear tairseacha rollaithe níos buntáistí do bhunscoileanna le múinteoir amháin agus scoileanna ar na hoileáin, laghdú aon phointe den chóimheas idir daltaí agus múinteoirí i mbunscoileanna beaga le ceathrar múinteoirí nó níos lú ón scoilbhliain 2020/21.

Cuireann Buiséad 2021 leis an dul chun cinn seo trí laghdú aon phointe breise a chur i bhfeidhm maidir le múinteoir a cheapadh sa scoilbhliain 2021/22 agus laghdú trí phointe ar an sceideal coinneála.

Cuideoidh na bearta seo lena chinntiú go mbeidh níos lú daltaí ag teastáil chun múinteoir a earcú nó a choinneáil. Tá an sceideal foirne don scoilbhliain 2021/22 ar fáil in Imlitir 0019/2021. San Imlitir seo cuirfear eolas ar fáil do bhunscoileanna faoin soláthar foirne a bheidh acu don Mheán Fómhair seo chugainn agus cuirfear tús leis an bpróiseas ath-imlonnaithe chun folúntais teagaisc a líonadh.

Ina theannta sin, tá na scoileanna a ndearna an Teachta tagairt dóibh curtha san áireamh i gclár píolótach scoileanna beaga a d’fhógair mo Roinn le déanaí.

Question No. 43 answered with Question No. 36.

School Accommodation

Questions (44)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

44. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education if confirmation will be given to a school (details supplied) of the location of its temporary school in September 2021; if she will ensure that the temporary school will be in the catchment area of the school; the location of the permanent site; when the permanent site will be ready; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35267/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The arrangement for interim accommodation for the school to which the Deputy refers to open in September 2021 is in the Eblana building in Dun Laoghaire.

My Department is also examining options of locations ideally within the catchment area for consideration for later in the 2021/2022 academic school year.

Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in the Local Authority in relation to the identification and acquisition of suitable sites for permanent accommodation for the school in question.

A preferred site has been identified and is currently being investigated by my Department in conjunction with officials from the Local Authority.

I appreciate that the process is taking a considerable length of time but I can assure you that the acquisition of a suitable site for the school is very active on the programme of site acquisitions and every effort is being made to secure the suitable site for the school as expeditiously as possible.

The Deputy will appreciate that negotiations in respect of site acquisitions are, by their nature, sensitive and for that reason I am not in a position to provide further information at this time.

Disadvantaged Status

Questions (45)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

45. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Education if she will review the DEIS band classification of a school (details supplied); if she will allow for a reassessment of this particular school; and if this has been an issue for other schools nationally. [35350/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

An extensive body of work has been undertaken in terms of the refinement of the DEIS identification model, based on the latest school enrolment data and data available from Census 2016 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 representatives of the Department’s Statistics and Social Inclusion Units, the Inspectorate and the Educational Research Centre. My Department has commenced a consultation process with education stakeholder representatives on the technical aspects of this model, and work is now ongoing on final elements of the model.

It is envisaged that this will provide the basis for the development and application of a refined DEIS resource allocation model to ultimately match resources to identified need. Until this work is complete, it is not intended to change the DEIS status of any individual schools.

Covid-19 Pandemic

Questions (46)

Denis Naughten

Question:

46. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education if she will issue a circular to schools to allow the live broadcast of lessons to leaving certificate students outside the school building who will not be able to physically return to school with their peers due to the need to cocoon due to Covid-19; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35169/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

Schools have put significant measures in place to reduce the risk of coronavirus being transmitted to/within the school and significant funding has been provided to support schools in this respect. The evidence to date from a public health perspective is that schools are low risk environments. The approach to Covid-19 in schools is led by the advice and guidance of the HSE Public Health.

The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has issued specific advice about children attending school in the context of covid-19. This advice covers both children with underlying medical conditions and children living with family members with underlying conditions. For all children, care should continue to be taken to reduce transmission through the measures promoted by HPSC.

The HPSC advice advises that children with immediate family members, including parents, in both the ‘high risk’ and ‘very high risk’ categories can return to school and it is important for the child’s overall well-being. This is consistent with public health advice internationally in relation to at-risk family members. The priority is that the household continues to follow all current advice on how to minimise the risk of coronavirus, through regular hand washing, etc.

Live streaming of classes does not arise where categories of students are expected to be in school. The guidance is available at the following link:

www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/educationguidance/

My Department has also published guidance to support schools in making adapted education provision for students with an underlying medical condition who cannot return to school because they are medically certified as being at very high risk to COVID-19. The guidance for post-primary schools on supporting such students is available via the following link:

assets.gov.ie/86732/17f3cc49-72ad-4986-98fc-51037d93369e.pdf

School Transport

Questions (47)

Pa Daly

Question:

47. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education her views on whether students who are forced to apply for a concessionary place on school transportation should have to pay for these places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32413/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.

All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and are offered seats where capacity exists after all eligible children have been catered for. The provision of concessionary transport is subject to a number of conditions including that the appropriate annual charge is paid.

My Department recently commenced a review of the School Transport Scheme. The review is being conducted to ensure that the school transport is fit for purpose and that it serves students and their families adequately. The Steering Group will report to me on an interim basis as the review progresses, with a view to presenting a final report with recommendations on the future operation of the Department’s School Transport Scheme.

Departmental Schemes

Questions (48)

Richard Bruton

Question:

48. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the scale of programmes supported by the education excellence fund; and if she has plans to expand this method of funding of innovation. [34507/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Excellence Fund (SEF) is an initiative developed under the Programme for a Partnership Government 2016 to encourage and recognise excellence and innovation in our schools. Since 2016 my Department launched a number of strands of SEF including SEF-DEIS, Gaeltacht, Digital, STEM and Step up (Leadership).

The overarching aim of the SEF-DEIS strand is to improve learning outcomes for young people. In order to achieve this, schools participating in the SEF-DEIS strand are challenged to promote innovation by adopting new evidence-based approaches to tackling under-performance in literacy and in the STEM subjects or in the Arts subjects. My Department provided total funding of €1.8m for SEF-DEIS. Thirty clusters, comprising approximately 100 early years settings, primary and post-primary schools and operating on a cross-sectoral basis are currently participating in the SEF-DEIS.

Sharing learning across clusters is regarded as an important element of the SEF-DEIS. To date, two shared learning days have been held. There are no plans to extend participation in the SEF-DEIS strand beyond the current thirty clusters. The focus of my Department will be on facilitating participant schools and education settings to identify and share good practice arising from their SEF-DEIS work. There will also be a focus on supporting schools to ensure they successfully capture data and information relating to the outcomes of their work.

Since 2017, a budget of in the region of €20m has been made available to support the implementation of the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme, which forms part of the overall implementation of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education. The 105 primary schools and 29 post-primary schools participating in the scheme receive a range of additional supports and resources. Due to the unprecedented school closures resulting from the COVID pandemic, the original 5 year term of the Scheme has been extended up to the 2023/24 school year to provide schools with more time to implement the language based criteria to gain recognition as Gaeltacht schools.

There are some 40 clusters participating in the SEF Digital & STEM programme, 9 of which are under the STEM strand. Some €1 million in funding is provided to over 200 primary and post-primary schools participating across both strands. The programme commenced in the 2018/19 school year, and was intended to run for 3 years but is extended to end 2021/22 school year in recognition of the impact of the pandemic. An evaluation of the programme is underway and the outcome from this evaluation will be considered in the context of applying the learnings to the wider system.

Step up (leadership) SEF was a two year programme for the 2018/2019 and 2019/20 school years.The programme was a joint initiative between my Department's Inspectorate and Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT) to recognise where schools were engaging in very good practice in implementing the Junior Cycle. The final report is due to be published by my Department and JCT in due course. The learnings gathered from the project have been incorporated into the work of JCT and will also be available to schools once the final report is published. There are no plans to extend the programme.

School Accommodation

Questions (49)

James O'Connor

Question:

49. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Education the status of an application for a new school building (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35269/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The school referred by the Deputy submitted an application for major capital funding and funding under my Department’s Additional Accommodation Scheme and my Department’s Planning and Building Unit is currently liaising with the Patron regarding same.

The school in question is operating on a tight site and the provision of additional accommodation is challenging. The Patron has recently secured the use of additional land from the Presentation Order to expand accommodation at the school to meet its short to medium term needs and it is proposed to erect modular accommodation on this site. I understand that the Patron is also considering acquiring additional land for the long-term planning of the school.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (50)

Cathal Crowe

Question:

50. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education the status of the provision of ASD units and multi-disability classrooms in County Clare. [35276/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.

This year, just under 25% of the total Education budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special educational needs. As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, SNAs and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.

For the coming school year there will be over 13,600 Special Education Teachers allocated to mainstream schools, who will support class teachers to address the special educational needs and learning needs of pupils who attend mainstream schools.

This year we are also providing for two new special schools and 269 new special classes. We will have a total of 2,118 special classes in 2021/22, which is the largest number of special classes that we have ever had, and compares to 548 classes available in 2011.

18,000 Special Needs Assistants will be available to support the care needs of pupils with special educational needs in our schools.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.

NCSE is planning a further expansion of special class and special school places nationally, to meet identified need. This process is ongoing. Through better planning at both national and local level, it is my objective that specialist education places should come on stream to meet emerging demand on a timely basis.

Planning for future needs takes into consideration the current availability of such places and focuses on those locations where additional provision is required. However, the active collaboration of school communities is essential in this regard.

It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school.

In establishing new special classes, the NCSE is required to satisfy itself that the class is both sustainable and available to all of the students who may need special class placements in a particular area.

I also wish to clarify for the Deputy that in the case of all new schools, it is general practice within my Department to include a Special Education Needs Base (SEN Base) in the accommodation brief for new school buildings, unless local circumstances indicate that it will not be required. Typically, a two classroom SEN Base is provided in new primary schools and a two or four classroom SEN Base is provided in new post primary schools.

Special classes can also be established within a school's existing accommodation. In such circumstances, the school can apply to my Department for capital funding to re-configure existing spaces within the school building to accommodate the class and/or to construct additional accommodation for special needs purposes, should the school’s existing accommodation not be capable of hosting a special class.

In relation to details on the current status of school building projects, my Department publishes this information on its website and this information is updated regularly. Details of school building projects completed since 2010 are also published on the website.

I can assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to prioritise investment in special education.

The local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) are available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list..

Schools Building Projects

Questions (51)

Paul McAuliffe

Question:

51. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education status of the new permanent build for a college (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35330/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

My Department is currently considering the school's long term accommodation needs in consultation with the school's patron.

Schools Establishment

Questions (52)

Christopher O'Sullivan

Question:

52. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education if she will authorise the establishment of a school (details supplied) to restore the choice of parents and pupils to continue second-level education in the Irish language, a facility that existed in west County Cork for some 14-15 years from 2000; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35289/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, this Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.

Where data indicates that additional provision is required at primary or post primary level, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following:

- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,

- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,

- Provision of a new school or schools.

New schools are established in response to demographic demand as identified through such analysis and a patronage process is then conducted, which takes into account parental preferences and an analysis of existing school provision in the area, which includes the potential flow of pupils from Irish-medium primary schools in the area.

The other mechanism to establish an Irish-medium post-primary school is for a case to be made by the relevant school patron for an existing Aonad to transition to a standalone Gaelcholáiste.

Where an Aonad does not currently exist, the patrons of post-primary schools in the area, such as those in West Cork, can engage collectively in relation to the establishment of an Aonad in an existing school in order to provide an option for post-primary Irish-medium education in the area.

Crime Prevention

Questions (53)

Emer Higgins

Question:

53. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education the steps her Department is taking to combat the scam telephone calls and text messages that are being received in relation to her Department’s services. [35384/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

My Department responds actively to perceived and actual cyber and scam threats that could affect Department services. It receives alerts from several sources, including the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and responds quickly to mitigate known threats. My staff, where necessary, are advised by email and SMS alerts of the measures needed to be taken in such events.

The response to cyber threats remains a whole-of-Government challenge, with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment taking the lead role and with inputs in the security domain from An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces.

Ireland’s NCSC, which is located in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment provides a range of cyber security services to owners of Government ICT infrastructure and critical national infrastructure. The NCSC is also home to the National Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) which acts as a national point of contact involving entities within Ireland, and as the point of contact for international discussions and collaboration on issues of cyber security. The scope of CSIRT's activities covers prevention, detection, response and mitigation services to Departments and State agencies and critical national infrastructure providers.