Results 5,361-5,380 of 19,968 for speaker:Norma Foley

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Teacher Training (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputy Clarke and I appreciate her personal engagement on this issue. More than 10,700 places have been provided by State-funded providers. There are 1,800 places with a private enterprise. With regard to the point made about fees and the difficulties with them, I was very pleased in budget 2024 to announce that, for those taking a postgraduate course in teaching, a bursary of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin. I acknowledge his personal engagement with me, and the engagement from throughout the House, on the incident on Parnell Square. Ensuring every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them is a priority. Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrate commitment to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin. I want to be very clear that I do not underestimate the extraordinary challenges, in particular areas, and it is in particular areas, for school leadership to fill posts. There is no doubt about this. We are a country at near full employment. The issues we face in education are reflected in so many other areas, whether it be hospitality, health or...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin. I reiterate that we are being proactive and very open to working with partners in education for other initiatives. We are open to looking at everything. For example, I record our gratitude to the more than 3,400 trainee teachers who have registered with the Teaching Council and made themselves available for substitute cover in schools. This is a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Teacher Training (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I know we took the opportunity to do so yesterday at the education committee, but I again offer what I know is the unified solidarity, support and sympathy of the entire House. We are particularly mindful of the children and their carer who were involved in an incident in proximity to a school on Parnell Square. I can confirm for the House that our NEPS psychologists, our school...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Teacher Training (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: At post-primary level it is the higher education institute that determines the number of places in accordance with its own available resources and arrangements. A total of 1,650 teachers graduate from these programmes each year. As regards the overall enrolments on the initial teacher education programmes, 2022-23 is the most recent year for which confirmed data is available. There were...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Kolbe Special School is part of a large-scale capital project, located in Portlaoise. I want to reassure the Deputy that this project is a key priority for the Department. The project brief is to provide a new eight classroom special school and appropriate ancillary accommodation. The School Authorities also recently received approval for the installation of modular accommodation on the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Domestic Violence (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Domestic Violence Leave is a statutory leave regulated by the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. With effect from the 27th of November 2023, all employers are required to provide up to five days paid domestic violence leave over a period of 12 months. Ireland is one of the first countries in the European Union to introduce this right and with the government of Ireland,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers is a two-classroom school that is in the Department’s pipeline for a modular accommodation project. The current enrolment at the school is 40 pupils which is a decrease of two pupils from last year. The project is being managed on a devolved basis by the school authority. The brief for the project is to replace the existing accommodation with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The designation of school sites to serve existing, expanding and new communities is the function of local authorities, in consultation with my Department, through the statutory development plan process. My Department’s Statutory Plans Co-ordinating Unit actively engages with the statutory planning process to ensure that sufficient land is zoned to provide appropriate sites for new...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority area of action for the Government. Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrate my commitment to continued investment in our education system. In addition to numerous actions I have taken in recent years to address...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Earlier this year the Department received a report from a Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) working group. The report proposed the creation of a national relocation scheme whereby teachers would identify the locations that they would like to relocate to through a portal and then effectively “swap” with teachers in that location. The proposal included findings from a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to have the opportunity to outline some of the important work that will be facilitated by the funding I secured in this year’s budget. In Budget 2024, I secured additional funding of €6 million for the further implementation of my ambitious programme for the redevelopment of Senior Cycle. To progress this important programme, additional funding is being provided...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capital Expenditure Programme (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Under Project Ireland 2040, my Department is investing €5 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day. My Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects and this was achieved...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Under Project Ireland 2040, my Department is investing over €5 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day. My Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects. Since 2020 we...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The Professional Master of Education (PME) is a two-year, full-time Level 9 postgraduate professional teacher education programme designed to qualify graduates as primary and post-primary teachers. The Teaching Council is the statutory body with responsibility for review and accreditation of programmes of initial teacher education. Changes to the duration and content of initial...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that requirements for school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: It has been agreed that School Transport Scheme services fall under the Transport Sector in relation to emissions reduction targets and reporting. Officials in the Department of Education are continuing to engage with officials in the Department of Transport in this regard. Site that are zoned for schools need to be appropriately located in order to maximise sustainable and active...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Traveller Education (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education provides a wide range of universal and targeted supports to schools to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential, including special education teachers (SETs), special needs assistants (SNAs), and supports from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). Supplementing the universal supports, the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The permanent building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school with accommodation, including four classrooms for children with special educational needs. The project is being delivered under my Department’s Design & Build programme and is currently at tender stage. The Invitation to Tender issued in April 2023, as...