Results 5,561-5,580 of 19,968 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department is providing a payroll service for school secretaries with effect from 1stSeptember 2023. There are currently in excess of 2,600 secretaries on payroll. As part of the implementation of the pay agreement for school secretaries, salary arrears have been calculated for all secretaries eligible for the payment. These arrears payments were received through the payroll on the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: School caretakers are valued members of our school communities and the Department is fully aware of the vitally important role played by individuals employed to carry out these duties. As you have mentioned in 2022 a suite of measures designed to improve the working conditions of school secretaries was agreed and since then comprehensive work to move school secretaries who have accepted...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I can advise the Deputy that Languages Connect, Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017 – 2026 aims to increase and diversify the range of foreign languages taught and learned across the education system. The Department is planning for the introduction of modern foreign languages for stages 3 and 4 (3rd to 6th class) as part of the broader plan for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for the Department. As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, the Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The site identification and assessment exercise for the school referred to by the Deputy is ongoing and a potential property has been identified. An architectural consultant has been appointed to commence an assessment of this potential property. Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to comment further at this time. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Please find attached requested information. Please note data provided is for academic year 2022-2023, the most recent year we have final enrolment data. Academic Year 2022-2023 Patron Gaelcholaiste CATHOLIC MULTI DENOMINATIONAL* DEIS Non DEIS Gaeltacht Area ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The permanent school building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s Construction Programme and will deliver a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school and accommodation, including 6 classrooms, for children with special educational needs. The project forms part of a major campus project on the Clonturk site in Whitehall which will also deliver...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: I can advise the Deputy that a second National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development – ESD to 2030 – co-sponsored by my Department, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, was published in June 2022. ESD to 2030 aims to ensure that all learners have...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The pension benefits of teachers, as with all pensionable public servants, are governed by legislation and/or circulars and are paid in accordance with public sector pension policy. Teachers who paid coordinated pension contributions (Class A) may be entitled to a supplementary pension in order to make up the shortfall in pension for the period between the date of retirement and the date of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/23 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Schemes (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: It is open to the school to make an application under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) for funding for this request. The purpose of the SWS is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services were provided...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The Irish language is an integral part of the primary school curriculum and teachers are required to be competent in addressing this element of the curriculum, which is based on a communicative approach and places particular emphasis on developing children’s listening and speaking skills. My Department specifies minimum entry requirements in core subjects: Maths, English and Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. . The Council registers teachers under five routes of registration namely, Route 1 -...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools of Music (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Cork Education and Training Board (ETB) is one of a number of ETBS which receive funding from my Department for the provision of non-mainstream music education. Cork ETB School of Music provides instrumental music education to individual and small group cohorts of students in a multi-campus model. As the information sought is detailed, Cork ETB will respond directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Psychological Assessments (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary and special schools. The NEPS service provides access for all schools to:Psychological support in the event of a Critical IncidentA Casework Service for individual children where there is a need for intensive consultation and assessment via a NEPS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: Since 2020 we have invested in the region of €3.5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 690 school building projects with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects. School building projects at construction involve an overall State investment of over €1.2 billion. We also have over 200 modular accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System (or GIS) to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit Data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. In addition,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. The minimum registration requirements for each route are set out in the Schedule of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (28 Nov 2023)

Norma Foley: The relevant section within my Department has been in previous communication with the property owner's solicitor in relation to this case. In order for the request to legally surrender my interest in the property, as Minister for Education, a number of documents have been requested and are awaited. The surrender request can be examined once the necessary documents are received by my Department.