Results 17,421-17,440 of 19,741 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: 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 (GIS). The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit Data from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Department's own school enrolment databases, to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: The Supplementary Panel is open to application from fixed-term and substitute teachers who meet the published eligibility criteria. For the current school year, this criteria is set out in Circular 64/2019, available on the Department website. The service reckonable for access to the Supplementary Panel is service as a fully qualified teacher in a post paid for by the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: The tender process for the school building project referred to by the Deputy is running as part of a wider process involving the tender of 8 major building projects. The first phase of the tender process to create a shortlist of contractors is complete. The second phase of the tender process is ongoing and is due to be completed in the coming months. The project is expected to commence on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has no record of receiving correspondence from the school authority in question in relation to the issue raised. In quantifying the specific requirements for September 2021, the Department is in the final throes of concluding its nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. Once the application has been assessed, the school authority will be contacted directly with a decision.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 467 and 468 together. As the Deputy may be aware, the patronage process for the post-primary schools due to open in 2021, including that for the Ballincollig school planning area, had been postponed earlier in the year, given the Covid-19 related restrictions in place at the time. Despite the continuing situation with regard to Covid-19, my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Catchment Areas (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998 and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in that area. Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: It is the policy of the Department of Education and Skills not to endorse or promote any particular products, programmes, ventures, publications, professional consultants or companies. I am sure that you will appreciate the reasons for this decision. It is the responsibility of each individual school to select the resources that it will use to support its implementation of the curriculum....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: The new building for the school referred to by the Deputy is progressing satisfactorily and subject to no issues arising is due to be ready for occupation early in Quarter 2 of 2021.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: As the deputy will be aware, the project to which she refers has been devolved for delivery to Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (ETB). I am pleased to confirm that construction of this school extension is nearing completion, which is anticipated in the first quarter of 2021.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: On the specific matters that have impacted the handover of the building, the Department is taking the appropriate steps to ensure it is completely satisfied that the building is fit for handover prior to accepting it. The Department is engaging with the contractor in this regard under the appropriate terms of the public works contract. Some communication was received from the contractor on 30...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: On the specific matters that have impacted the handover of the building, my Department is taking the appropriate steps to ensure it is completely satisfied that the building is fit for handover prior to accepting it. My Department is engaging with the contractor in this regard under the appropriate terms of the public works contract. Some communication was received from the contractor on 30...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: The building project referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department's Design & Build programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tendering and construction. There is also a full-time Clerk of Works present on site and represents the interests of my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: 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 (GIS). The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit Data from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Department's own school enrolment databases, to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I would like to inform the Deputy that the funding of Life Safety Systems, under which category this falls, was announced under my Department's Summer Works Scheme last year. If a particular school did not apply for funding of Life Safety Systems under that round of the Summer Works Scheme, an application should now be made under the Emergency Works Scheme, which is the proper mechanism for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I would like to inform the deputy that the correct mechanism for uprgrading heating systems falls within the scope of my Department's Summer Works Scheme; schools are free to apply for funding under this scheme when it next opens for applications. If the heating system in a particular school completely fails, the school may apply for funding through the Emergency Works Scheme; details of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Occupational Injuries Benefit (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: The provision of an occupational injury scheme for teachers is the subject of a claim, being brought to the Teachers' Conciliation Council (TCC). Discussions are taking place under the auspices of the TCC, to which the Department, management representatives and unions are all party. As the proceedings of the TCC are confidential, it would not be appropriate for me to make any further...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Scheme (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 480 and 483 together. Under Budget 2021 I have announced a general reduction in the mainstream staffing schedule to 25:1. While there has been a reduction in mainstream class size in recent years, there has not been a corresponding reduction for those Urban Band 1 DEIS schools who are already allocated a preferential staffing schedule of 20:1 for schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (10 Nov 2020)

Norma Foley: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's website. The schools to which the Deputy refers are Education and Training Board (ETB) schools. The Department provides a staffing allocation to each ETB and the distribution of this staffing allocation including Small School posts is a matter for the Chief Executive of the ETB schemes in...