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| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 26 August 1921 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Ireland |
| Headquarters | Tyrone House, Marlborough Street, Dublin 53°20′57″N6°15′27″W / 53.34917°N 6.25750°W /53.34917; -6.25750 |
| Annual budget | €11.9 billion (2025)[1] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Department executive |
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| Child agencies | |
| Website | Official website |
TheDepartment of Education and Youth (Irish:An Roinn Oideachais agus Óige) is adepartment of theGovernment of Ireland. It is led by theMinister for Education and Youth.
The official headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are atMarlborough Street,Dublin. The departmental team consists of the following:
Chief among the department's priorities are:
In the revolutionary period, the position was established in 1920 as the Minister for Irish.[3][4] This was expanded as the Secretary for Education in theGovernment of the 2nd Dáil.[5][6]
It was provided a statutory basis by theMinisters and Secretaries Act 1924, passed soon after the establishment of theIrish Free State in 1922. This act provided it with:[7]
the administration and business generally of public services in connection with Education, including primary, secondary and university education, vocational and technical training, endowed schools, reformatories, and industrial schools, and all powers, duties and functions connected with the same, and shall include in particular the business, powers, duties and functions of the branches and officers of the public services specified in the Fourth Part of the Schedule to this Act, and of which Department the head shall be, and shall be styled, an t-Aire Oideachais or (in English) the Minister for Education.
It also assigned it with the following agencies:[8]
In the early years of the state, the main focus was on running thenational school primary system. Free secondary education was provided from 1968. The department also had the task of overseeing reformatory and industrial schools from 1922. TheCommission to Inquire into Child Abuse, which reported in 2009 (the "Ryan Report"), found that this was rarely achieved.
The department's headquarters were situated within the grounds ofTyrone House, Dublin in what was formerly the home of the National Education Commissioners.
The name and functions of the department have changed by means ofstatutory instruments.
| Date | Effect |
|---|---|
| 2 June 1924 | Establishment of the Department of Education[9] |
| 13 July 1943 | Allocation of theGenealogical Office[10] |
| 1 October 1997 | Renamed as the Department of Education and Science[11] |
| 26 September 1998 | Transfer ofVocational Education Superannuation from theDepartment of the Environment and Local Government[12] |
| 25 June 2002 | Transfer of theGenealogical Office to theDepartment of Arts, Sport and Tourism[13] |
| 1 May 2010 | Transfer ofSkills Training from theDepartment of Enterprise, Trade and Employment[14] |
| 1 May 2010 | Transfer ofResearch to theDepartment of Enterprise, Trade and Employment[15] |
| 2 May 2010 | Renamed as the Department of Education and Skills[16] |
| 11 May 2011 | Transfer of theNational Education Welfare Board to theDepartment of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs[17] |
| 21 October 2020 | Transfer ofFurther and Higher Education to theDepartment of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science[18] |
| 22 October 2020 | Renamed as the Department of Education[19] |
| 1 January 2021 | Transfer ofEducation Welfare from theDepartment of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth[20] |
| 1 May 2025 | Transfer ofYouth from theDepartment of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth[21] |
| 2 May 2025 | Renamed as theDepartment of Education and Youth[22] |