The official headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are at Marlborough Street, Dublin. The departmental team consists of the following:
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]
The Commissioners of National Education in Ireland.
The Intermediate Education Board for Ireland.
The Commissioners of Education in Ireland (Endowed Schools).
The Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial Schools.
The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland (business and functions relating to Technical Instruction only).
The College of Science.
The Geological Survey in Ireland.
The National Museum of Science and Art.
The National Library of Ireland.
The National Gallery of Ireland.
The Metropolitan School of Art.
Meteorological Services.
In the early years of the state, the main focus was on running the National School primary system. Free secondary education was provided from 1968. The department also had the task of overseeing reformatory and industrial schools from 1922. The Commission 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 of Tyrone House, Dublin in what was formerly the home of the National Education Commissioners.
^Foley, Norma (11 October 2023). "Ministers Foley, Madigan and Byrne announce details of over €10.5 billion education funding in Budget 2024". Government of Ireland. Retrieved 24 February 2024. Minister for Education Norma Foley, along with Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan and Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne, today announced details of an unprecedented €10.5 billion investment in Education and Schools in Budget 2024.